I Should Be Sleeping

I should be sleeping. I am overtired and cranky. Normally sleep comes quite easily. I begin snoring before my head hits the pillow, but tonight it escapes me.

So here I am at the keyboard, listening to the Blue Man Group. I know, it is not exactly the kind of music that relaxes you. OTOH, when I feel amped up like this I kind of need some kind of beat to listen to. It is counter intuitive, but the pound and pump has a way of bringing me back to where I want to be. Or more simply put it slowly takes the edge off.

My daughter is heading towards 2.5. She is smart, beautiful and all attitude. Right now she is a little queen, a mistress of the household. It is one of the very few times in life that most of us get to act like that and get away with it. The sad thing is that we don't appreciate it.

Today she demanded cookies for breakfast. When I refused to submit to her will she screamed at me and then told her mother that "daddy is a very bad boy."

I had to laugh. I told her that if it made her feel better she could be angry with me. Here is my late night confession. That is standard fare from Jack. There are millions of people who have heard that line and the one that follows, "I won't lose any sleep over it."

Men, you are welcome to use it but be prepared for the response. I have yet to meet a woman who wasn't incensed by it. Maybe that is why I use it. ;) Or not. I'll leave the self-analysis for a different night.

My son told me that he is the smartest person in the house because he is the only one who goes to school. I reminded him that his sister goes to school as well and then he said that her brain doesn't work right. So I asked him how he knew this and he said that everyone knows that 1, 2, 3, and 4 year olds have brains that don't work right. Funny how it stopped at his current age.

So then I told him that I never have stopped learning and he said that he was still smarter because everyone knows that adults have old brains. Maybe that is why I am not in bed sleeping, my old brain.

My niece suggested that if I bought her a gift for her birthday I would be her favorite uncle. So I asked if he she had made the same suggestion to her other uncles and she said yes. Ah, the beauty of a four year old, the lack of duplicity is refreshing.

My eldest nephew told me that he wishes his mother would stop kissing him goodbye. He is a big boy now and she needs to leave the baby stuff to his brother. Can't wait to tell my sister. She is not going to like it at all. Of course I could leave it to my self, but what fun would that be. More than 30 years ago I told her that as her big brother I was legally entitled to tease her forever. I don't want to look like a liar.

Ok, I am going to try and catch some sleep now.