Nighttime Conversations

These are always preceded by calling me out of sleep to walk through the house to his room.

* * * * *

"What do you need Daddy?"

"I need to let you know that there is going to be a new quality to the light at night from now on."

"Yeah, the nights are getting shorter. Spring is coming. Let's get you back to bed."

* * * * *

"What do you need Daddy?"

"Oh, is that you? Go back to bed."

* * * * *

"What do you need, Daddy?"

"What time is it?"

"It's ten minutes later than the last time you called me out here to ask that question. Try pushing the buttons on your talking watch."

* * * * *

"Why are you up already, Daddy? It's not even four in the morning."

"I didn't want them to call me lazy for staying in bed."

"Nobody thinks you're lazy for being in bed at four in the morning. Why do you think you're lazy?"

"My brothers told me."

"That was a dream, Daddy. Let's get you back to bed."

"I just thought I'd get up ten minutes early and start the plowing."

"It's snowing, it's February, the ground is frozen, there's no plowing. This is my house, there's no farm here. Now are you ready to go back to bed?"

"Damn!"

* * * * *

"What do you need, Daddy?"

"I just needed to ask you what things looked like at your gate?"

"I don't have a gate, Daddy."

OK, your door, your... what ever it is."

"Normal, Daddy. Thinks look normal. And dark. It's midnight. Time to go back to bed."

* * * * *

"What are you doing up already?"

"My bag. It's full up to here, " pointing mid chest height to describe his leg bag.

"OK, I'll empty it."

"Well, don't go away mad!"

"No, Daddy, I just had to go get the bucket."

"I've been awake all night long".

"Oh, I'm sure that's not true." (He was sound asleep when I poked my head in half an hour earlier when I got up to use the bathroom.)

"Yes I have. I stayed up all night waiting for my surgery at 4:00."

"There's no surgery."

"Yes there is. The girls came in and told me."

"There were no girls. They were a dream. And a dream, by definition, means you were asleep."

"I don't want any surgery performed on me. And I don't want anybody else performing surgery on me." (What, those are two different things?)

There's no surgery, Daddy."

"What time is it?"

"It's not even five in the morning. Let's have a sip of water and get you back in bed." (He does.) "See? If you were having surgery, I couldn't let you have any water. There's no surgery."

"When's getting-up time in this house?"

"You don't know yet?"

"No, I don't."

Well, on working days, I get you up at 6:30. On weekends it's nicer to sleep in till 7:00. Today is a work day, so I'll see you at 6:30. OK?"

"OK."