Embracing the Night

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I miss the night.

I’d forgotten how much, really, that I do. I’ve been a night owl all my life. Since I was a kid, when my mother struggled to get me into bed, and there would be times that I’d be up late, sitting on the floor, reading by the nightlight in the hall, alert for every sound.

Had to. If my mother got up and found me, I’d regret it.

I started staying up all night when I was a teen, and even now, if left to my normal rhythms, no clock, no “have to be there” requirements, I gradually shift to an after-midnight routine. My daughter is the same way, and I sometimes wonder if it’s habit or genetics. It takes two or three clocks to jar me out of bed in the morning, so that I can get her on the bus at 6:45.

So the long weekend gave me a chance to take back some of the night, starting with a delicious trip downtown to see Jonell Mosser Friday night. She is an amazing blues/rock singer, and I danced my butt off. She was on the soundtrack for Hope Floats, but hasn’t had a huge national release yet. She should.

Anyway…that got it started. Too wired to sleep, I finally went to bed about 3am, which pretty much ruined any ideas I had for an early morning hike this weekend. When I did get up, I dedicated myself to getting the “Melody of Love” contest entries taken care of before I did anything else…this took most of the next two days. (What was I thinking when I volunteered….But it’s mostly done and I can get back to my own writing. )

No early morning yardwork either. But lots of night. Lots of star-staring and wine and music and reading, embracing the arts and artists who I love.

Strangely enough, my desire for the night goes a long way to explain a couple of recent obsessions….

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