Deep Asleep
3am. Both kids are deep asleep. Hannah curls up to the warm humidifier tubing and a nearby Elmo doll, amber pulse-ox metrics (100 O2 / 90s HR) illuminating her bedroom. Her humidifier drones on. In his room, Gabriel shifts, his arms tucked under his abdomen, his head falling short of his pillow. Mirroring Hannah's pulse-ox, Gabriel XM Radio aqua symphony laps against dark corners.
Janette has retreated to our bedroom, having swapped shifts with me an hour ago. Hopefully, she sleeps deeply for the next four hours, wrapped up in queen-sized blankets, recharging for a day with the kids.
For the remainder of the morning, I stand watch. I pace between Hannah's room, looking and listening for changes, the office, and the kitchen. I turn on the kitchen radio, catching up on the news. I empty the dishwasher. I start coffee: the first of several pots today, to be sure. I snack.
Outside, a newspaper is wrapped and prepared for driveway re-entry at my house. Accepting the stillness of dark skies, the birds remain quiet, asleep themselves. The unusually chill and dewy summer air hugs the ground.
My time is mine until the world awakes.
-- Dad
Comments
I would be lost without coffee and it sounds like I get more sleep then you guys. I'm sorry for not responding to your last email. My computer crashed and I lost everything (photos were backed up to two weeks prior), including email addresses. I'm slowly reloading all of my favourite blogs which has probably been one of the biggest pains. I hope things are going well for your family.
Posted by: Jacqui | August 11, 2007 04:24 PM