Adaleine Grace, Night Owl

You know how everyone tells you that all kids are different and you have to parent them differently? And you think, “Well, obviously all kids are different. That’s so obvious! Of course I’ll remember that when I want to tear my hair out scream at them beg them to listen face challenges.”

The thing is, you don’t. Not always anyway. Sometimes all you can think about is how one child can be so much more difficult at times, and it never occurs to you that it’s just because they’re different. So obvious—but so easy to miss.

Mr. Bug and I are night owls. We always have been. In college, having to take an 8:00 am class was almost a reason to swear off college completely, and starting a movie at 11:30 pm seemed completely reasonable. Now that we’re (a little bit) older that’s been toned back a bit, but it’s still just a part of who we are.

Eden and Judah wake up bright and early around 6:30 and are usually annoyingly ready to take on the day. Not so with Adaleine. This girl would sleep until 9:00 every day if she could, and when she does wake up you really shouldn’t talk to her right away. I can see her being a big coffee fan when she’s older.

The flip side of this is that Miss Eden and The Boy fall asleep fast and hard at night. Judah usually doesn’t make it past songs and prayers, and Eden usually lasts about three minutes past the winding of the music box. It’s like tranquilizer darts were set loose in their room and they’re out cold.

And then there’s Sissy Belle. For about three years I have struggled with how hard it is to get this little girl to sleep at night. She lays in bed anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours, just sighing and singing and talking to herself. And for those three years it has been driving me nuts. 

Then the other night dear Mr. Bug said something that smacked me on the head so hard I think I can still feel the bump. He went into their room after the other two were asleep and we could hear Adaleine singing to herself. And he said, “You know what? Mommy and Daddy are night owls, too. We’ve always had a hard time getting to sleep at night.” He then told her that that’s okay, and reminded her not to forget she shares her room with her brother and sister so she still needed to stay kind of quiet.

Parent your kids differently. Sissy is a night owl, poor thing. One of the things we’ve handed down. She will be the one who texts me at 11:30 at night when she’s older with a random question. She won’t be able to text Eden that late because Eden will probably be in bed by 8:00 her whole life. But I’ll still be awake, because I’m a night owl. Just like my Adaleine Grace.