![]() When our children were in their teen years, it was both convenient and reassuring to have at least one parent on guard virtually around the clock for whatever needs or folly would befall them, particularly during the main teen social hours of about 8 p.m. In the early mornings, however, I would change the baby, bring him back to bed and plug him in to nurse, with my wife hardly opening an eyelid. The late-night ones logically and instinctively fell to my wife, while I was off dozing in never-never land. There was no need to discuss who took care of which cry for attention from the crib. When our kids were infants our patterns really began to emerge. While mornings for me often begin as early as 3 a.m., my wife finds it hard to drag herself to bed before 2 a.m. By 9 at night, she hits her peak with her brain firing on all cylinders. She starts her days slowly, picking up steam as she goes. My wife, however, morphs into the opposite. After supper most nights, to my wife's chagrin, I start a slow descent into zombieland. But by the end of a long workday, my brain is in need of some down time. By about 7 each morning I'm set to take on the world. I like to get up, have breakfast and get myself ready while I have lots of time to plan for the day. My niche in life has always been in the early morning. I worked a few summers on the afternoon shift and one on the night shift as a student, but it never felt right. Mind you, I have always been a morning person, apart from those late teen and early 20s years when peer pressure makes it obligatory to be a creature of the night. I am not quite certain whether to chalk it up to biology, psychology or gerontology, or maybe all three, but our internal clocks are no longer aligned. ![]() Soon came four kids and the traditional roles that followed, which became, well, comfortable. We did the dishes together, sans dishwasher, and went to bed tired every night after the 11 p.m. Okay, maybe not quite taking turns, but I cooked sometimes. At the end of the day, we co-ordinated who picked up whom for the return home, taking turns making supper upon arrival. With one car, we left for work together every day, taking turns driving. ![]() We often even showered together, being environmentally conscious. We got up together, taking turns making coffee. When we were first married and it was just the two of us, we were completely in sync.
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