Wednesday, August 17, 2005

PRIVACY PLEASE

Do you know how Mom's always talk about never having a moment to themselves? It's true. I can't go to the bathroom or my bedroom without someone knocking on the door. I swear my children can detect when I am no longer in the room within 10-15 seconds after I sneak out. My standard answer is "privacy please." The children then know to leave me alone or I'll rip their heads off.

I think this is why every morning between 2:30am and 4:00am I am awake. I value my sleep, but I think that my body/mind is telling me to value solitude more. It's now obvious that I need some time to myself without interruption.

I've been reading this book called "Gift From the Sea" by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. She's a Mother of five and writing a book while alone at the ocean. She talks about how we as women are bearing, feeding, rearing & educating our children. We run households with a thousand details, we have relationships with other women, family and husbands. We have the television on, the radio in the car and a myriad of other distractions. A life of multiplicity rather than simplicity does not bring grace but rather destroys the soul.

So this morning, 2:38am to be exact, I awake and go downstairs to get a drink of water and use the bathroom. I, for the first time am looking forward to the next hour and a half. A time for reflection and peace..........

As I am using the bathroom, I hear a blood-curdling scream upstairs. Izzy (who is starting out in his own bed at night) had a bad dream and was disoriented. All he wanted was Mommy. It appears that not even the early morning hours are sacred anymore.

Well with three of the children in school now......there's always naptime.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

When you kids were little I had the problem of wanting to show me every little bruise or scratch after I returned home from work. So, I had a Dr Mom hour ( set up like between 6-7p.m) Then you little darlings could show me week old cuts, almost healed bruises etc. The only concession to this is if you were unconscious or bleeding.
Since all my children were IN BED
by 8p.m. having a mommy's hour might work in your case. Just make sure you tell daddy that if they are unconscious or bleeding he may only then rap on the bathroom door.