Staying up past my bedtime used to mean
watching "grown up television"
catching glimpses of my parents' parties
fried bologna and onions midnight snacks
fireworks after baseball games
seeing the end of the "Sunday Night Movie"
solving algebra and calculus problems
finishing the term paper due in the morning
an all-night-diner after a traveling Broadway production
the last flight home
Then staying up past my bedtime became
dates at late-night movies
planning a wedding, a birthday, trips home
pushing the hospital visiting hours
round-the-clock newborn feedings
soothing nightmares and fevers
a spouse working evening shift
helping with the homework
lights still on across the hallway
attending band concerts
pick-ups from dances
waiting on a child with a driver's license
waiting on calls to say she made it back to college
Last night, staying up past my bedtime meant
retrieving one happy, tired teenager from the airport
We were all up past our bedtimes, together.
Sometimes the best memories are slumberous.
You always give me room to think. I remember late nights too and how they change through the years. I'm going to write about that in my journal. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteKimberley, I wrote this last night, in an effort to stay awake for my son's midnight return from his band trip to Disneyland! I'm glad it resonated with you...now I have to figure out how to operate on four hours' sleep.... :-)
DeleteLast night was a WONDERFUL reason to stay up late! A band trip to Disneyland. My gosh that sounds like a fun one!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely fun for him, Stacey! Of course, we're all walking around like zombies today...early bedtimes tonight!
DeleteI love how this is a timeline of late-nighters through a lifetime. "Nocturnal Pursuits" title caught my because I have always wondered what others are doing out so late when I just happen to be driving on the lonely night highways on occasion.
ReplyDeleteI spent many a night on the lonely highway between Austin and El Paso, TX, Ms.Crouch, so I can relate to your musings as well! Luckily, my sleeping patterns are a little more regular now...
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