OK. I'll leave you all with this creative work I did recently. I have of course edited names (Ann for my W, Jack for my son, etc.) and a few other things to keep some anonymity. I know its not anything to write home about, but I did put a lot of my soul in it, and it is a true story (as much as my memory serves me). Just remember, I'm an astronomy prof, not english. It is in 3 parts.

Part 1

Life with Baby Jack by Chromosphere

I awaken ...

The nightstand lamp is on. I sit up in bed, curious about the time. I can’t see the electric clock while lying down because it is placed on the floor … Ann can’t sleep with it “shining in her face.” It is just after midnight. Fortunately, the twins are asleep. They are in their room probably holding tight to their "lovies", those objects of affection that young children latch onto and are necessary for sleep. I chuckle internally as I think about doll-sized blankets and washing instruction tags. As I settle back down letting my tiredness wash over me, I look to my right and see Ann standing there beside the bed with a strange expression on her face. Then it comes flooding back to me, I was trying to stay awake to help with the nursing, changing of diapers, and comforting of Baby Jack that goes on continuously throughout the night - but I had drifted off to sleep. DRAT!!! (or something else a little harsher anyway) Her expression must be one of disgust at me for being so weak, leaving her to deal with the nightly duties on her own. The night just got longer. Sigh.

But wait ... there is a strange wetness on me. Is it the roof leaking? I feel around and notice the wetness trails back to ... Baby Jack! And Ann is standing over him with a half removed diaper in her hand. Sudden realization dawns on me. There is one thing I didn't get to experience with little girls ... the fountain of youth. My eyes immediately travel to the exposed instrument of my awakening. OOPS! … that was a mistake. Now I have this image of a little, red, swollen (newly circumcised) “thingy” in my head. OUCH!!!! The night just got longer. Sigh.

I roll out of bed to begin the search for “wipies” to clean the pee off the bed. I find the white, cylindrical container with convenient pop-top and smile inwardly at this mental stroke of genius. I reenter the bedroom, pleased with myself and expecting a smile of gratitude from my overwrought wife; the tableau is shattered by the excited utterance “you don’t expect me to sleep in a bed with pee all over it do you?” I stand there dumb-struck, but realization seeps in … we’re washing the sheets tonight. This of course means a restless remainder of the night on the couch punctuated by the buzzer on the washer, then dryer as they finish their respective cycles. The night just got longer. Sigh

I awaken again ... but was I really asleep.

Sunlight is just beginning to stream into the window. I can hear the twins frolicking in the other room. Loud thuds and giggles permeate the air. I am already sitting half upright with a heavy weight on my chest, my head and upper back propped against the headboard. I look down and see Baby Jack with a contented open-mouthed expression on his sleeping face. Remembrance floods back to me, the washing completed, Ann remade the bed and we nestled into the warm clean sheets that were almost worth the trouble of a couple hours on the couch. But Jack had been disturbed beyond repair by the night’s incident and had been very “fussy” as they say. So in an attempt to allow Ann to get some sleep, I have been holding him for the past 4 hours. My chest must seem like a king-sized bed, and fairly comfortable, because Baby Jack is sound asleep despite being late on a nursing. I look to my right and notice Lori has managed to get some sleep, perhaps it will make this day a little more bearable for her. Sigh (contented this time).

I gently lay him on the bed and reluctantly shake Ann awake. I've got to get showered and dressed, make the twins’ breakfast, change their diapers, get them dressed, take the garbage out, and get to school in time to make up a quiz and prepare today’s demonstrations for physics class. The fun has begun again. Can I make it the next three months?

Next post, part 2

Last edited by chromosphere; 05/27/06 06:33 PM.

"Recollect me darlin, raise me to your lips, two undernourished egos, four rotating hips"

Inertia Creeps by Massive Attack