Categories: Family Stuff, Writing Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 17 Comments

Creature of the Night

I’ve always been an owl not a fowl, but with my kids on holiday – my nocturnal tendencies are getting out of hand.

My days are filled with wipe this, feed that, mop this, carry that, tidy this, cook that, find this, pick up that, pick up that again, all to the tune of non-stop noise in whatever you call stereo from 3 directions. This is punctuated by an eternal barking round performed for no extra charge, by All The Dogs In The Neighbourhood. It’s all thoroughly spectacular.

Come bedtime – the kids bedtime, not mine – my head volunteers to pop just to let all the noise out. Heck, so what if we lose the brain in the process? Apparently not too much going on in there anyhow!

Yet one by one, the niggles and giggles turn into gentle snores… and something utterly miraculous descends on my home. I’m whispering, can you tell? A lovely blanket of quiet. Not a harsh post-nuclear-explosion-type-silence, but quiet. Threaded through with the hum of the fridge, the determined ticking of a clock whose hands are stuck on 6:30 but keeps ticking anyway, the subliminal whine of the neglected tv.

In the midst of all this glorious quiet, my brain peeps out and whispers is it safe to come out now? Words line up and preen, hoping for some exercise. Quite frankly – who would actually WANT to go sleep through this?

Not me.

So I stay up way too late.

I revel in the peace.

How delicious it is to think an entire thought through to its conclusion without being interupted. HA! The joy of writing, not just sentences – but entire paragraphs! Bring it on.

Real headspace! Aaah! What bliss.

I know tomorrow I’ll pay the price of little zzzz’s with a brain that turns over and tucks the duvet closer when I need it. Truth is – find this, wipe that – doesn’t really need that much brain power.

So, no… I’m not turning Twilight and growing fangs, not rehearsing for a Rocky Horror remake.

I’m just grabbing the pockets of peace. Filling them with careful words and creeping forward a baby step at a time.

I’d love to hear from you. How do you manage school holidays?

Comments (17)

  1. Oh holidays, why do they even call them that? Oh right, because the SCHOOL gets a holiday from the KIDS. Riiiiigggtttt. Well, the little man and I enjoy a shared love of reading, so any day -off usually involves a few hours of this (usually at the beginning and end) and we try to fill the middle with visits to the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum), trips to Chapters, bike rides and me sitting in the park while he romps around for a few hours. Usually by the end of our ‘holiday’ we both need a break and a milkshake, and fortunately, we know a place…. I whine but 5 years from now, he’s not even going to acknowledge me if we pass on the street, so I try to be happy with the attention and time I’ve got. Even if I’m more tired than if I tried to outrun a Wampa.

    1. So true Portia. I’m also very aware of how quick this time is going to be! What on earth is a Wampa???

  2. School holidays? I sleep a lot. 🙂

    1. No Jim… that is just WRONG! You need a wife and some kidlets, then we’ll talk 😀

      1. Grin.
        You’re absolutely right about that, DW.

        I’m the first to admit it.

        Perhaps I’m trying too hard.

        1. It will happen, and when you meet her – you will know. 🙂
          You will make a fabulous husband JZ.

          1. I suppose the third time will be the charm. I’ve thought I might have met the right one twice already.

            But, then again, 3 strikes and you are out.

            Do you play baseball in SA?

  3. With two of them grown 18, and 20 but still at home, they are self sufficent, but the 10 year old is a different story and I have to adjust during those times to accomodate his chirpy smile at 7am. Lots of coffee. When he’s at school I am can have all the late nights I love, and I do love them. Last night my husband was called into work at midnight and while I sympathized with him, I smiled a little at the thought of staying up, in bed and writing.

    1. So thats quite a gap you’ve got! I love those quiet midnighty hours by myself. 🙂 🙂 🙂 I don’t do so well at waking up early though…

      1. Our little one was a lovely surprise 🙂

        1. Aaaaah! Thats just lovely. With all my girls, we’d decided we were ready – two of them made us wait (18 months with the 1st, 3 years for the 3rd!), my middle child was an instant pregnancy. All of it is in His plan and with His perfect timing – though it didn’t feel that way at the time. 🙂

  4. We have one more week til school holidays, and I will make it through the first week because I am down one kid – BLISS. I desperately need that break. The second week should be fine because, bless her, I’ll miss her badly and will be so pleased she’s home.

    Like you, I am writing later than normal though, even now, just because it’s SO nice to do something without being interrupted. It’s a real blessing. Enjoy it!!!

    1. Thank you Cassie. Whats your latest wordcount? You must be clocking 50K+… ?

      1. 62K+ now 🙂 I’m giving myself April to finish it off!

        1. You are so inspiring! Go girl go!

  5. I’m very thankful to say we did a little crazy outdoorsy stuff that would make Bear Grylls proud. So blessed… By that and this gorgeous piece of writing from you my friend!

    1. I’m so so happy you got to do the crazy outdoorsy stuff that is soooooo long overdue. Bear Grylls WOULD be proud! Hehe… you say the nicest things. 🙂

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