Midnight To-Do Lists

Most things gets checked off of my To-Do list between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and midnight.  I’m not a morning person, and our house is so small that as soon as I get up, at least one little person is up, too.  So nighttime is my time, for both chores and relaxation.

Last night, after the kids went to bed, I was going to:

• take a shower
• attack the pile of dishes in the sink
• do some laundry
• send some emails
• get started on my slice for today
• read over lesson plans for the upcoming week
• work on a photo book I’m making for a present
• read

At 8:30 I laid down next to my girls, thinking about all of these things to do once they fell asleep.  Which to do first? I wondered, prioritizing them in my mind, knowing that I wouldn’t get to all of them.  I knew I was tired, but I figured the girls would fall asleep quickly after the long, full day we had had, so I wasn’t worried about falling asleep myself like I sometimes do.

Suddenly my eyes flew open and went straight to the clock.  1:17 a.m.  I blinked, but my eyelids felt like they were stuck to the contact lenses that I hadn’t removed before laying down with the girls.  I must have been really tired, I decided, crawling out of bed and finding my way in the dark to the bathroom.  I pried the dehydrated contacts from my eyes and washed my face.  As I brushed my teeth I briefly contemplated staying up to get something done, but my sleepy brain quickly rejected the idea.  The only thing getting crossed off my To-Do list tonight was “catch up on sleep.”