On the First of September
Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump. Pause. I could feel my eyelids attempt to open. Things were hazy and I had been deep in my sleep. Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump. Slowly I peeked through my lashes and assessed the situation. It was still dark out with a hint of light glowing through the blinds on my bedroom windows. Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump. Silence. “Heeeyyyyyyyyyyyyyy”. I sat up in bed. The haze had totally cleared and I knew exactly what was going on. Snapping my head around I squinted then glared at the clock to see that it was barely after 5:30 a.m. Whipping back the covers I yanked on my jeans that were in a wrinkled pile on the floor and headed rather swiftly out of my room and up the stairs. Reaching the top I was just in time to catch the little culprits red-handed who had awakened me almost two hours before the necessary time.
Stopping dead in his tracks Little Brown Eyes gazed up at me with what I assumed was shock as I reached out and snatched up Little Z who had thump, thump, thumped his way right past him for an early morning run. Those little turkeys had been running the length of the hall into the family room for entertainment! With Little Z tucked under my arm I marched back to their bedroom where Little Brown Eyes had already lighted onto his bed with his head sunk deep into his pillow and guilt fixed firmly in his eyes. Tucking Little Z in I strongly told him that he’d better keep to his crib and I had better not hear a sound. Staring up at me he knew he was busted and simply wiggled under his “Scooby Doo” sheet with his puppy dog snuggled under his arm and grinned. Lately he had become quite the little escape artist and I could see that he was right proud of himself. With that I turned to tuck in Little Brown Eyes whose guilt had not ceased and with a big kiss on his forehead and cheek I bid him goodnight without looking back and headed back down the stairs. Flopping onto my bed still in my jeans I listened intently and was satisfied to hear utter and total silence permeating my house.
This week was a big week and I had to find humor in the situation since I wouldn’t be finding any more sleep. Husband would be taking his big test on Thursday and needed his rest so I had to be the morning police mama today. Normally I would have feigned sleep and allowed him to correct the course of our rambunctious boys but knowing the importance of his test I leapt into action like a good wife should. Of course crazy things like children running the halls during the wee hours of the morning waking everyone up should have been anticipated and expected because of this big event looming over our home. Why should I be surprised? Frankly I wasn’t. Strange things like this were actually a regular occurrence in our home. Still laying flat on my belly above my covers in my wrinkled jeans I at least could take comfort that my husband was quietly slumbering as I watched the subtle glow get brighter through my window blinds on this first day of September.