Coming Soon.....

We are nearing the end of summer, folks, and you know what that means? My self-imposed hiatus from the world of blogging is also winding down. The new season of the smash hit, Around the Block, with it's cult-like following, promises more thrills, spills, tears and laughter. At once introspective and entertaining, Around the Block treats its 7 fans to a glimpse inside the ordinary life of an ordinary woman in an ordinary world. Her trusty side-kicks provide unexpected comic relief, while her partner-in-crime dispenses timely travel and political advice while inviting the reader to keep a dictionary handy. Need a preview to keep you going until the season is in full swing? Here it is:

In the wee, small hours of the morning, when the whole, wide world is fast asleep, I lie awake*....and wish Annie would stop calling out for me! But I realize, with knowledge acquired through trial and error, that unless I throw back the covers and drag myself out of bed and stumble into Annie's room, the solace I seek on my pillow will not be found. So I do what any other desperate-for-stillness-and-its-blessed-companion-silence mother does: I drag myself across the hall to said room of said child.

me: Annie, what do you need?

Annie: My tummy is hungry. Is it morning time?

me: No, Annie, it's not. Tell your tummy it has to wait until breakfast. See, it's still dark outside. The sun isn't even awake yet. Just go back to sleep. Morning won't come unless you go back to sleep.

Annie, saying calmly: The sun won't wake up in the morning until I am fast asleep.

(I was tempted here. Really tempted. It would be have been so easy to build off of Annie's assumption and run with it - all the way back to my cozy bed. But Ryan, uh, discourages me from telling our kids little white lies - even if  the lie will  take care of the immediate (and perhaps future) issues as well.)
me, struggling against the lure of Annie's conjecture: Uh, it'll just take forever.

Annie: It will? You mean the sun just won't get up in the morning if I don't go back to sleep? The sun doesn't wake up if kids don't go back to sleep?

me: Well, it'll feel like forever. Um, time just passes faster if you're asleep. Sooo, you'd better go back to sleep....so morning can come sooner. (Was that a lie? I mean, time really does seem to go in slow-motion when it's the middle of the night and you should be sleeping, right?)

There was a slight pause, then the conversation, as well as Annie's urge to get up, was laid to rest (no pun intended) with her conclusion, delivered very matter-of-factly:

"The sun will not get up in the morning unless I go to sleep, because the sun doesn't wake up when it gets tired of peoples calling out for their mothers. I think so. We'll ask it in the morning. We'll just wait and see. Good night, Mummy."


In The Wee Small Hours Of  The  Morning by songwriters Bob Hilliard and David Mann