Monday, June 8, 2009

A Great Night For A Showdown

Nathan has been kidding me about the fact that I like to be in bed by 9 pm whenever I possibly can. He's been telling me that being "older" has rendered me completely incapable of staying up late and partying with the likes of him. He's been happily hassling me by telling me that I don't have enough perkiness to stay up til after midnight, the way he does.

In short, Nathan has been spoiling for a showdown. And Friday night, he got it.

As I mentioned earlier, Friday night our whole family went to see Monsters vs. Aliens. Steve, Nathan and I were actually thinking about going to another movie that Sarah didn't want to see; however, we figured that since she had just graduated from seventh grade that day, we should do something of a celebratory nature that included her. (Because we're nice like that.)

In the process of making our movie night plans, it occured to me that after months and months of being unmercifully teased by my son, the time had come to throw down the gauntlet.

I said, "Nathan, how about if you and I drive to the theater separately. After the first movie, Dad and Sarah can go back home and you can I can stay for the 9:15 showing of the movie we had wanted to see in the first place."

Nathan stared at me as if I had just lost what was left of my mind. He looked a little quizzical and a lot worried, obviously wondering if his aged, decrepit mother had taken a sudden leave of her aged and decrepit senses.

He asked, "Mom, do you think you can really stay up that late?"

I said, "Just watch me!"

And so, according to our plan, Steve and Sarah went home at 8:30 which left Nathan and me with a little time to kill before the second movie started. We decided to walk about a block down the street from the theater to a little book store/coffee shop that features live music on Friday nights. Here's a picture of the shop. (Taken in the daytime, obviously. And yes, that IS Snowy's head, lurking in the foreground.)



There was a delightful group of five fellas in there last Friday evening, playing country bluegrass music. The youngest guy might have been in his late fifties, and the rest were at least in their 60's and 70's. It was so refreshing to watch people making music with that kind of simplicity and joy. They weren't worrying about their light show, or CD sales, or publicity tours. Shoot, they weren't even worried about playing all the notes right.

They were just five guys, having fun, grinning from ear to ear and obviously enjoying the simple pleasure of playing music--in a small town, in a small coffee shop, in front of a small audience.

Nate and I sat and listened to several songs and then walked back up the block. I teasingly asked him while we were walking if I needed to stay five paces behind him so that no one would know he was out on a Friday night with his mom. He said he thought he would be fine. (smile)

Just to give you another glimpse of small town life, here is the theater we were going to. Our family sees most of our movies at the Howell since tickets are just two dollars. It's a quaint, old timey place that always makes me feel like I've stepped a few decades back in time.



As Nathan and I were standing in the ticket line out on the sidewalk I looked across the street and had to smile just a little bit as an old memory hit. (Old ladies tend to ponder old memories, you know.) I had told Nathan this story a time or two in the past, but standing right there with him, I just couldn't keep from repeating it. (Old ladies tend to repeat their old memories a lot, too!)

Here's how the memory goes:

Almost twenty years ago, Steve and I were youth and music pastors at the same church he just resigned from last November. After being on staff at the church a couple years, we made the decision to go on the road with my brother and sister-in-law as full time musicians. (Where we stayed for FIFTEEN years!)

Since we figured we would need some promo materials, we made arrangements to have a publicity photo taken. And the place we chose was this photography shop that just happened to be right across the street from the theater.







What made that photo shoot especially memorable was that I was three months pregnant with Nathan at the time and therefore dealing with lots of pregnancy nausea. The guy would take a few shots and then I would run down the hall to be be sick in the bathroom. Then he'd take a few more and off I'd go again.

It was a really weird feeling to be standing across the street from that same shop almost twenty years later with the big, tall, wonderful guy who was a result of that pregnancy. Talk about precious memories!

At any rate, we finished reminiscing, bought the tickets, watched the movie, and exited the theater at about 11 pm. I was pleased to note that Nathan was yawning and I was still feeling perky! Ha! I was showing HIM a thing or two about partying late at night!

As we drove home together discussing the movie, he suddenly announced that he was hungry. No surprise there. We went through the drive through at McDonald's where he treated me to anything I wanted--as long as it was from the dollar menu! (A man after my own heart.) We took our dollar treasures back to the house, and sat at the kitchen table to eat and talk. And talk. And talk. We ended up talking so long, it was 1 am before I finally made it to bed.

But people, I DID it!

I stayed up past 9 pm!

I hung out with my college son!

I didn't fall asleep and/or become incoherent at 9:01!

I was immensely PROUD of my middle-aged self!

Of course, the next day I felt like I'd been in a wrestling match with a 300-pound armadillo but that was okay. My son had been impressed by his mom's amazing ability to be a night owl and I had been impressed by my son's amazing ability to make me feel young again.

It was a great night for a showdown.

____________________________

On the subject of movies, we use a great website that reviews movies from a family perspective and lets you know exactly what each movie contains as far as sex, language, violence, etc. The Smith Family highly recommends it and uses it frequently.

And now a few questions for class discussion.

Are you a morning person or a night person? If you're a morning person, why do you like the morning better? If you're a night person, why do you like the night better?

Does age make a difference for you? In other words, as you got older, did early bedtime look more appealing? I just need someone to tell me I'm not alone here in my desire for 9 pm bedtimes!

19 Had Something To Say (Just click here!):

Anonymous said...

Believe me, as a first time mother to an almost 5 month old son, you are definitely NOT alone in your 9:00 PM bedtime wishes! I can fall asleep practically anywhere, standing up, at any time! 9:00 PM sounds marvelous! :)

Cheryl
Warner Robins, GA

Sue G said...

Well, under normal circumstances (read: without chemo), I am a morning person. I always awake wide awake and jump out of bed running. I just love getting an early start on the day. In the afternoons I tend to wind down a bit.

Of course, on chemo, I am very slow to move in the mornings. I am usually up and running by eleven. And I am usually spent by two or three. Short day, huh? That's okay because it makes up for the looooong nights. I usually am awake until four or five in the morning and sleep until about seven.

Yeah, I'm a real ball of fire.

Anonymous said...

I am 28 years old and I can go to bed every night at 9:00!

Traci
Hunker, PA

SuziQCat said...

I like the morning better, but not too early. I'm like you Becky, and prefer to go to bed around 9pm...I lay up and read for about an hour before lights out though. I think there is nothing better than reading in the evening, while snuggling with the ever present cat!

lesley said...

Well, I find that as I get older(ahem!) I need more sleep. At least 9 hours or I wake up with a headache. My perfect sleep time is 11:30 pm till 9 am. I am NOT a morning person. Can't function. A zombie.
The problem is that often I work the 3-11 shift which means it's hard to settle down for sleep till 1 am. Then poor Sarah is left languishing in her bed until I can rouse myself in the morning. At about 10 am! Poor kid :):)

Pam D said...

As one of the older people here in the room, I am here to say that being a night or morning person IS a genetic trait. My dad was a night owl; I am a night owl; my son is a night owl. Dad, though, still got up and got going. Son and I tend to lay abed too long, given the option. The thing I've noticed as I've aged is that, if I HAVE to get up early, then I really HAVE to take a nap by about 1:00-2:00 in the afternoon (let's hear it for the siesta!). I do love the fact that Nathan will happily hang out with you, IN PUBLIC, at his age. Wow.. you've obviously done more than one or two things right!

Anonymous said...

I have always been a morning person, going to bed by 10 pm nightly. I wake up in a good mood and spend the first 15 min prior to getting out of bed praying from my various prayer books. I love the birds singing the coolness of the day and anticipation of the day. But due to the economy I took another job from 4:30pm to 12:30 am, now a night person, and sleep in till 9 am. But I still love my mornings, I feel I have more energy and like getting things done first thing. I continue to lift you up in prayers that God will soon place you where you are supposed to be..
Hugs from Iowa,
Marjie

Marysienka said...

I'm not a morning person, although I usually wake up around 8.30-9.15 on weekends (and around 9.30 during vacation), so that's not SUPER late (like my 17 yr old sis who wakes up past 11am...). However, I can't go to bed past 10pm. My bed time is around 9.30. In other words, i need sleep!. A good 10 hours.

In fact, I had never been able to stay up past 2am until recently, when I was on call in obstetrics and wouldn't sleep for 26-28 hours straight. Yep! It was extremely hard physically (nearly a torture!), though I was still able to think clearly, even after all this time. So, point of the story is that if I did it, anyone can do it! (trust me, I am known to be a sleeper!)

Oh and I'm 23... ;)

Anonymous said...

Morning person! up between 4 and 5. (I started getting up early 25 years ago when I had my mother living with me, and I just wanted some private time.)

my now morning routine: make coffee, spend about 60 minutes doing Bible study/ SS homework or reading other Christian books.. right now I have three, and I read a chapter in each every day. Then I head to my computer and play my Hoyle card games and board games. Then I visit the Pen Pals. If it is a school day, I usually do something for school, too. Summer time: gardening.

so, nine o'clock bed time is about right for me, but I am usually at choir/chorus practices 3 or four nights a week... except for summer, and now I watch the Cardinals Baseball, and somehow frequently fall asleep in the seventh or 8th inning.. closer to 8:30!!!

mrs pam

Love Being A Nonny said...

When my three were in their teens, I never went to bed before I watched the 11:00 news. Now that they are grown and gone, I am in bed most nights by 9:00. I love the mornings! I get up at 4:45 am and head to the Y to work out. By 8:00 am I have moved mountains!!!

Anonymous said...

I was always a night owl--going to bed after 1 if I could and then sleeping in until 11 or so. However, I graduated from college a year ago, and now that I am in the 'real world' and have to get up for work in the morning, I can't go to bed after 10:30.

Mary
Des Moines, IA

PS What movie did you and Nathan see?

Andrea said...

I'm most definitely a night owl, staying up until midnight on most weeknights and 2 or 3 am on weekends. Regardless of how late I'm up, the alarm goes off at 7:30 and I'm out of bed by 8:00. I do take naps on weekends, ahhh lovely, lovely naps. It's just the way my body is "programmed" and I don't see it changing. I guess I take after my father as he was a night owl too. My mom on the other hand is up at some ridiculous hour of the morning an asleep by 9 most evenings.

Luckily, I've found a job and a boss that allow for my natural sleep cycle and most days I arrive between 9 and 9:30. Of course there are times when I need to be in early and I can do it, I just prefer not to. Besides, it's fun to shock everyone out when I show up at 7 am. They never know quite what to think.

I've been this way as long as I can remember, school was most certainly a challenge. I went to a private school with busing provided by the public district. We were picked up and dropped off before the public school kids so I had to at the bus stop by 6:30. I can't possibly begin to count the number of times I missed my stop and my mom had to drive me to the last one on the route.

THANKS MOM!

I'm getting a little older now, will turn 41 in a few weeks and my sleep pattern hasn't changed one bit. It will be interesting to see how or if it changes as I age.

Nancy said...

Night owl here! Altho I have to be in bed at 10 so figur ethat out lol
I love you guys
Nancy

Anonymous said...

Hey, has Sarah read Archives of Anthropos by John White? They come highly recommended (a Christian series) by a friend's daughter (also named Sarah, oddly enough) as better than LOTR and Narnia put together. She said they were so well written and great for rainy days (funny since she lives on an island in the middle of the Persian Gulf - not known to be home of any rainy days!) Ha ha. Anyway, thought I'd see if there might be a book or two your voracious reader hadn't happened across yet!

Praying for you guys - as you'll see if you look at my blog link I emailed last night, I'm in a similar transition!

Lisa in San Diego

Kate said...

Oh, you are not alone in the early bedtime at ALL. I'm only 27 and I find myself going to bed earlier and earlier. I work with the youth group at my church, and they BEG me to stay up late, while I'm yawning uncontrollably. I think I hit the stage early though. Even my last years of grad school, I'd go on retreats with my college Christian group and be the only one NOT partying it up late into the night playing UNO or something.

9pm sounds good to me.

beth reilly said...

I have always been a night person. I can remember when I was about 8 or 9 years old my girlfriend would say she was going to come over at 9:00 on saturday and I would tell her not to come until at least 10:00. I have only gotten worse with age. I am now 57years old and I typically stay up until 2:00 or 3:00am. The days I watch my grandchildren I get up around 7:45 but the other days I sleep well past 10. I would love to go to bed earlier and get up earlier but it doesn't work for me. I enjoy my quiet time late at night and everything seems more interesting to me then. If I get up early I can't make myself do anything. I've always said that if I lived in California I'd be normal!

WHitney said...

I like the look of your movie theater! Thanks for posting the picture. Looks like it has a lot of history.

amysahoot said...

Hi Becky, I am definately NOT a morning person, as you can surely tell by the hour that I leave messages when I sign the guest book. Not quite sure why I like night so much more because it is so pretty of a daytime outside, especially in the summer, but night-time is quieter, and for as long as I can remember or at least as far back as eight grade, oh my speaking of almost 20 years, yikes. I'm just a hoot owl, hence my cute screen name, amysahoot, or my e-mail address amy.itsahoot.

Anonymous said...

I am a night person. Last night I was up until 3 AM and the night before until 4:15 AM. It seems I get going around midnight. Everything is quiet and I can peacefully do whatever I want or need to do. Thursday night it was cleaning out a bookcase to donate Christian books to our church library. Last night I just enjoyed reading the paper. I usually get up by 10 AM. Some nights I go to bed by midnight because I have to be up at 7 AM to volunteer. I'm proud of you, Becky, for staying up with Nathan.
Ann in RR