Under Cover of Darkness

One thing I like about winter in Seattle is how early it gets dark. You might be asking yourself how I could possibly love short days and long nights. I have one word for you. Bedtime. If I put them to bed on time, Laylee thanks me for letting them stay up SO LATE since it's been dark for hours by that time. And if I happen to be DONE with the afternoon whining by 6 o'clock at night, they can't argue when I send them upstairs because, "Look how dark it is outside."

The late sunrise is nice too, aided by the thick layer of clouds that's almost always present. It's hard to tell just when the city light pollution ends and the dim diffused sunlight begins. Yesterday morning when Magoo started yelling, "Mamma! MY MAMMA!" I quietly pulled him from his crib, where he'd spent the night as a consequence for prematurely dismounting his bunk bed.

"Shhh," I said, "It's still night time. You can stay here or you can come snuggle with me and daddy." It was 7:45am and when you don't go to sleep until after midnight, it really does feel like it's still the middle of the night. He looked skeptically towards the dimly glowing blinds and nestled in under our duvet, where we enjoyed 15 minutes more "sleep".

I'm a little worried though. The kids are getting smarter and more in tune with their bodies...and the days are getting longer. If I can use the evidence of darkness against them now, I'm sure they'll attempt to use the daylight at 9pm against me.

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