These are the moments for big chunks of chocolate

I thought my kids were settled and about ready for bed. Well, most of them. The oldest two are at a high school basketball game (not counting the very oldest one away at college -- have to include her in case she's out there reading this. :)). The younger three were either supposed to be in bed or were finishing up homework, reading books, etc.

Long gone are the days that my school children are in bed asleep by 8:00. I think my oldest girls used to get in bed at 7:00. Now with teenagers in the house, it's hard to get anyone to sleep before 9:00 at night. Our 12 year old son has never required much sleep and is up till about 11:00 every night. I learned when he was about 2 years old that if he took a nap, he'd be awake past midnight. Once we went to sleep and he was still awake. I woke up around 2:30 and he was playing in his room, walking around in circles with toys all around. Thankfully, he likes to read late at night, so it's not too disruptive, but I really like my quiet time at night.

I grew up with 4 brothers and had my own room since I was at least 8 years old. I'm used to solitude at night. You'd think I could get that out of my system. I've been married longer than I was a child growing up in my home, but the habits of enjoying a quiet room all by myself are ingrained deeply. I loved to read until my eyes wanted to close. My mom would tell us that all the lights had to be out, but she knew I liked to read. So she'd just ask me to put a towel along the bottom of the door so the light wouldn't shine out into the hallway for my brothers to see. I guess she just wanted peace and quiet like I do now.


That leads me to now, wanting a little solitude tonight. I came down here to the computer to write a blog entry about yoga, but I found not long after pulling up my chair that all 3 children were up and about, asking me for an apple or orange, trying to find a highlighter for homework, or telling me what time it was (the clock matched her birthday right at that moment). It took some energy (understatement) to help them each get back to where they were supposed to be and the resulting reaction was "Oh, I wish I had some chocolate in the cupboard!" Like that solves anything. It sure is a strong feeling though. I guess it's that pattern of stress and seeking a soothing stress reliever. Chocolate has been found to provide that relief in studies and in my life (not to mention the lives of countless others -- especially women). But it really doesn't change anything. It is like jumping into a pool on a hot day. It feels good. (I guess that wasn't a good example because a pool really does change things -- gets me cooled off AND wet. But then again, the chocolate changes things too -- it quite often sends me on a sugar cycle of wanting sugar around the clock, prevents me from eating foods with vital nutrients, causes me to gain weight, and if it has dairy in it, can give me allergy and asthma problems).

Enough of my rambling thoughts. It sounds like the house is quieter now; I think I'll go up and read. Just as I type those final words, my older kids walk in the door -- their team lost, but they have other fun news to share. Time to be a mom just a little bit more. No chocolate needed.