Always the Last to Bed

No matter how hard I try, I am always the last to bed. First to get up. Last to bed. Everyone is snoring soundly in their comfy beds, mouths open, drooling by the time I get upstairs to put my feet up and lay my head on my pillow. I can lay in my bed at night and listen to everyone sleeping. Even the friggin dog, sprawled out at the foot of my bed. And the cat curled up on my bed beside my husband. Sometimes I come home from work and tell myself, I’m going straight to bed. I would like to do that. Oh, that sounds nice. But instead, homework, playing with magna forms, taking the dog out, sending a few work emails, dinner, bathtime and the rest keep me from my comfy bed. Oh, what it would be like to sit in my bed reading the Chasing Fireflies and Mini Boden catalogs, and then top it off with this month’s InStyle or this week’s US Weekly. Yeah right. That shit sits on my bedside until they get dusty, and another one comes, so I throw them away. Sometimes I am TOTALLY excited to read them. I head up to bed around 11:10pm, but see my husband is already snoring. He snores like he’s sawing logs and revving a Harley Davidson at the same time. I might get to a few pages of a catalog or a magazine but then fall fast asleep. Or, said Husband will complain the light has been left on too long and request I turn it off.

I decided to start this blog because I’m sure a lot of people are in my same situation. Working Moms. Living a life without seeing your kids. Coming home after having all the life sucked out of you at work, and giving more…wanting to be there for your kids and enjoying every last minute of our three hours together before bedtime. Waiting for the “me time” which starts at 10pm for ME. Between 10-11 usually do laundry, pick up the toys, take out the dog, and make lunches. I haven’t watched TV in 10 years since I started having kids.

Ugh, enough of that. So. Yep, in the 10 years since I became a Mom, I have never gone to bed ONCE before anyone in the house. I know so many other Moms in this same situation. Maybe you too. One of my best friends doesn’t go to bed until 1am most nights and stays up cleaning up after her 3 boys. You can’t possibly do that until they are all asleep in their beds. Another friend says she’s so worried about cleaning up she lays in her beds most nights and pretends to sleep. Maybe only getting a few hours of actual sleep. Honestly, we cannot do it all. This is proof. But we try to do what we can. Make a happy home for our family, smile for them when we get home and be “present” when the kids tell us about their presentation about the state of Indiana at school, show and share with Hazel the American Doll horse, or when said Husband talks about the guy at work who goes out on an installation but is really at Taco Bell for the 4th time.

This is for you if you are the last to bed. This is for you if you just had mozzarella sticks and tofu with rice for dinner because that’s all you had. This is for everyone. Well, mostly for Super Woman Working Moms.