As I sat in front of my laptop this afternoon trying to
formulate an introduction into this blog that wouldn't be a massive stretch,
the song, 'Wake Me Up Before You Go Go' began running through my head. It goes
without saying that it was accompanied by images of Derek Zoolander and his
friends spraying each
other with gasoline.
 |
| Don't try this at home. Or the gas station. Or anywhere. |
From there, I began to think about just how many songs there
are that include "Wake Me" in the title. Did you know there are at
least 10 different versions of 'Wake Me Up'? Me neither. In addition, you have
the aforementioned 'Go Go', that Evanescence song where they just keep saying
"Wake me up inside", and Green Day's 'Wake Me Up When September
Ends'.
I'm sure there are plenty more songs that have
"wake" in the title. However, for the sake of a blog opening, I don't
want to spend any more time/energy researching.
Also, if you haven't caught on yet, this blog post is about waking up.
Tada!
If you have any kind of personal relationship with Bethany
or I, then you already know how much we value sleep. Bethany has a strict
regimen of trying for at least eight hours of sleep each night. By comparison,
I usually go for about six. However, I don't want those six hours of sleep to be
interrupted by anything. And yes, anything includes Ellie.
Unfortunately for us, Ellie never received that memo.
Instead, she chooses to wake and make an attempt to start her day during the
4:00 or 5:00 hour each morning. While Bethany and I have largely been
"patient" with Ellie's sleep habits, we've finally reached the point
where we feel it's time to turn Ellie's early wake-up time into a more
manageable 6:00. Seemingly the only way to do so was to get Ellie her very own
alarm clock.
After some research (courtesy of Bethany), we decided
on the Mirari OK to Wake! alarm clock. While the bug-shaped clock does feature
a working alarm, that's not the route we choose to take with it. Instead, we're
using the color-changing light system. Once 6:00 hits, rather than sounding a
harsh alarm, the bug's body will glow an otherworldly green until turned off.
On Ellie's first two of nights with the alarm, I ended up
having to wander into her room over the 5:00 hour to calm her via rocking or by
laying on the floor beside her bed and rubbing her hand. Once 6:00 hit and the
bug illuminated, Ellie would take off sprinting to go see Mommy. Shortly
thereafter, here would come Ellie bringing Bethany to look at the bright green
bug until Bethany finally turned it off.
Last night though, Ellie wanted no part of me rocking her or
rubbing her hand. Instead she asked (nay, demanded) that I leave. With nothing
else to do since I was awake and not trusting her to stay put, I instead laid
on the floor outside her closed door for a while, listening to the sound coming from
within. While Ellie initially laid down in her bed, that did not last long
before she got up and started scampering around her room.
Once she tired of jumping on the bed and furiously rocking
in her chair, she then turned her attention to the alarm clock. Ellie's
relatively smart so she realized that the only way to leave her room without
getting in trouble was with the clock's permission. Therefore, she began to
seek that out.
Ellie: Turn green.
I want to see her.
Clock: **silence**
Ellie: Go, go, go!
Clock: **silence**
Ellie: I WANT TO
SEE HER!!!
Clock: **silence**
As you can probably guess, this "conversation"
didn't end there. Instead, Ellie kept on yelling at her clock to turn on until
it finally decided to obey her demands at 6:00. All the while, Bethany and I
lay in the next room experiencing a variety of emotions. Namely, silent
laughter with a touch of pity for our daughter. In case you're wondering, I
don't think we scarred Ellie for life or anything as she once again came
sprinting into our bedroom as soon as the green light illuminated her otherwise
dark quarters.
I don't know if this will end up being a long-term success
or not. However, I can guarantee that Ellie will learn what the color green
looks like as a result of this little experiment. So, you know, good for her.
#DaddyWrite
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