Why Procreating Is Bad For Sleep Quality

Somewhere between the dream world and a dark abyss, I heard Maddex call out for me.  Opening my eyes I saw his face looking down at me through the darkness.

“Mom, did you wash my socks?” His innocent request stirred me awake and I slowly sat up in bed.  Reaching out to hold him, I noticed his hair was wet and the faint scent of toothpaste coming from his mouth. 

“What time is it?” I asked him feeling more exhausted then usual.  Generally I am not a morning person, but Maddex has a habit of waking up at 6:30 every single morning. 

“I don’t know.  Where are my socks?”

“They’re in the dryer.  I turned them on last night before I went to sleep, they should be dry.”

“Okay, thanks.” He kissed my cheek and trotted off to the laundry room.

I pulled myself out of bed and smoothed over my comforter before heading out into the living room.  Maddex had turned the TV on and was focusing on cartoons while absent-mindedly shoving his foot into his shoe.  I continued my journey into the kitchen and began to gather ingredients for our near daily waffles.  Mixing the ingredients together and warming up the waffle iron, I looked out the window and noticed the sky looked extremely black.  I wondered to myself if we were due for another rainstorm, and hoped it was true. 

The waffle irons light clicked from red to green; go time.  I poured half the batter onto the iron and let it close.  I stood still and stared at the light, watching the steam dance upward toward my face.  I couldn’t shake the feeling of being so incredibly tired, and wondered if I had stayed up later then I thought the night before.  On impulse I looked at the clock hovering over the oven.  3:30 am.  What?

“Maddex!” I started.  Maddex jumped to attention. “Its 3:30!” I looked at him, his bright blue eyes staring back at me wide and awake.  He didn’t respond.  I looked from him to the waffle iron and back to him.  We stared at each-other for what seemed like an eternity.  Then I asked quietly, “Which do you prefer: syrup or peanut butter?”

“Hmm, peanut butter.  Thanks mom.” Maddex turned back around and faced the TV.  The light on the iron clicked back to green.  I paced to the cabinet, reached in to grab two plates, and walked back to the iron.  Using a fork I lifted the waffle from the iron and placed it on the plate.  I poured the rest of the batter in the waffle iron and watched the light click to red again.  While I waited for the second waffle to finish I strategically filled in the holes of Maddexs waffle with peanut butter, with the concentration only a sleepwalker possesses. 

Once my waffle was done cooking, I placed it on the second plate and slathered it with syrup.  I served us up on the couch and we ate in silence while being mildly entertained by the random cartoon playing on the TV. 

After we ate, Maddex gathered the plates and put them in the sink.  Then we cuddled on the couch until about 6:00 am, when I decided to go back to bed.  I slept until 9:00.