Up All Night.

So between Anika and me, one of us was up all night.  I was up until 10.  ...and awake before 3.  My good wife was up until at least 3, because she was still up when I left for work.  When I got home, she was in bed.  ...but kids started to wake up, and I'm not about to force her to get up again.  One of us, at least, was up all night long.  It seems our last two children decided not to go to sleep (though both are asleep now; it's Bub that's awake, and we don't dare let him roam free!).  Why is that a big deal?  We only have LOTS to do today!

The day is supposed to start with a breakfast for the preschool that Bub and Duck will be attending.  I'll go up and ask Mommy if we're even going to that, with her sleep-deprived and me comatose-desiring.  After that, we're supposed to go to the elementary school that Analee will be attending to get her set up in her classroom and meet teachers and other students in her class.  I'm actually excited about that one, because I'll finally get to see her class and teacher and such.  I won't be able to go on Monday because I'll have the other three while Mom goes for Analee's first day of school.  Expect many pictures and tears to be seen then.

It's strange to think that I'm old enough to have kids going to school.  I worry about them.  Especially Analee.  She's incredibly smart.  She loves math and reading, and cranks out huge words like "commandments" from the King James Version of the Bible.  Yes, she reads Elizabethan English.  Crazy.  My worry isn't that school will be too tough for her, but rather that she won't learn to work.  Anika says that she didn't learn to work, but at least she learned to study.  I never even learned that because I lowered myself to the school's standards (and I went to a school in the top-100 in the nation!).  I don't want to let Babe lower herself like that.  My worry, then, is that she'll end up doing art projects all day long and come home zombified.  I worry that she'll get bored with the schooling and focus on the socializing.  I worry that she won't learn to work.

Bub is just as smart, but far less interested in showing his smarts.  He'll learn to work on his emotions and keeping them in check.  Babe can control her emotions, though she sometimes chooses not to.  Bub has trouble keeping his anger in check.  I think it's because he's a boy.  I worry about him learning to focus, but not on overall smarts.  He'll have his work cut out for him there, though.  My hope is that he'll be engaged by the learning process, and not use his time to get others riled up.  If he does that, all will be well. 

The next thing we need to focus on, then, is sleep.  If we can all get some sleep, I think we'll all be better off.

Here's hoping!