Mr F woke up at midnight. Sweetie and I trade nights being responsible for getting the boys to bed (sitting in their room until Mr F falls asleep) and then taking care of them if they wake up and can't get back to sleep.
Mr F never gets back to sleep.
Up until tonight, Sweetie was on a terrible run of nights: going back to before Xmas, she had (1) the night Mr F had the flu (2) the night Mr Bunches had the flu (3) the night Mr F got up at 1:30 a.m., (4) the night Mr F got up at 4:30 a.m., and (5) the night he didn't fall asleep until 1:30 a.m. and then (6) the night he got up at 2 a.m.
Tonight was my night.
He woke up, as I said, at midnight. Here's how we spent the night (blogged live at the time!):
12-12:30 a.m. Mr F played the piano; he plays the same three notes with his left hand, and mixes up the right hand, sometimes for hours. We're used to it. Sometimes he changes the tempo of the song, like if he's angry the song gets louder and faster.
Meanwhile, I read some news articles.
12:30-1:05 a.m. When Mr F laid down on the couch, I suggested we go up to bed. He responded by going to get his safety harness for use in the car -- which means he wants to go for a ride.
So we went for a ride. We did his usual route, around through the rich mall and the office complex area and then downtown. I listened to my audiobook.
When we got back from the ride, Mr F insisted on going down to the big flowerpot at the end of the driveway. He likes to touch the snow in it. We walked down there. It was 33 degrees out, cold and dark. It's different being outside at 1 a.m. The dark feels a little more ominous. We sometimes take walks at night -- 7 or 8 or 9. I don't think I'd take a walk at 1 a.m. I thought about that for a while, wondering why it felt that way. I decided: It's because anyone you meet at 1 a.m. walking around isn't likely to be a nice guy. Unless it's me and Mr F, touching the snow in the flowerpot, of course.
1:05 a.m. - 1:45 a.m. Mr F watched The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh on TV. I read some random articles on Wikipedia -- I kept hitting the "random" button and got 7 articles about moths or butterflies in just 15 tries, which is probably a record.
1:45 a.m. - 2:30 a.m. Mr F played piano again. I ate an "Uncrustable" and had a glass of milk, and began watching Episode 1 of The Magicians.
2:30 a.m. - 2:46 a.m. Mr F is back on the couch. I am on the reclining chair. He's watching Kronk's New Groove. Almost done with The Magicians. Also I had to unclog the toilet after Mr F used it. This time, at least, it unclogged. Once, he flushed a stick of deodorant.
2:47 a.m.: Mr F just got upset. He sat up and started hitting himself in the head and has now gone to play the piano. I bet we're going to go for another ride.
2:50 a.m. Yep. Ride City.
3:19 a.m. We're back. Mr F is playing the piano again. We saw a raccoon on the ride, right in the middle of the road. I stopped so Mr F could see it. It took off running after a moment. I made a note about some stuff I have to do in the morning. I thought up a theory that Star Wars is all just a big Mary Sue fan fiction for George Lucas, based on two pieces of evidence: (1) Lucas said in an interview that the story arose out of his own conflict with his dad over whether Lucas would take over the family office supply store and (2) "Luke" is sometimes short for "Lucas."
It's a work in progress.
3:23 a.m. Mr F's back on the couch, watching Little Einsteins. This one has something to do with a sentient tulip. No, that's not sleep deprivation. It really is about that.
4:00 a.m. I've been watching The Flash. Mr F is giggling to himself on the couch.
4:21 a.m. Mr F is back at the piano. I'm watching The Daily Show.
4:42 a.m. He's back on the couch, complaining loudly. I'm watching Modern Family and wondering if I should make some coffee.
4:51 a.m. Mr F is getting upset. I gave him some medicine in case he has a headache. He's crying. We can never tell if he's sick or has a headache of just feeling anxious. He brought me his safety harness again. Ride time.
5:21 a.m. We're back. My eyes are bleary from the lack of sleep and I had to keep my window open to keep from nodding off while I drove. I tried listening to my book more but I couldn't follow the plot right now so I put on the radio instead. Mr F is back at the piano; he's changed it up now. It's mostly a bunch of very low bass notes, played staccato. I've put on a cup of coffee. In 39 minutes we'll have to get Mr Bunches and Sweetie up to start the day. I'm going to play some Plants vs. Zombies 2 to see if that can clear my head.
5:24 a.m. Mr F brought me his safety harness again. I told him he had to wait until the coffee was brewed at least. I'm getting the angry song on the piano.
5:34 a.m. The coffee's done. Mr Bunches woke up. "Dad, it's morning!" he said. We're going on our final ride.
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