Grown up
When i was little i had to be in bed by 8 o’clock sharp. No if and’s or but’s about it. But there were times when I couldn’t sleep at all. On these nights I would wait for my father to tuck me into bed and then, after I was sure he had gone back into the living room downstairs, I would sneak out. I didn’t go hang out with friends or go to a secret hiding place, at this point in my life I didn’t have either of those. No, I would venture out of my room and sneak over to the staircase and sit on the step that was just out of view of my parents. From there I would just sit and listen.
I liked that feeling. Listening to someone talk when they have no idea that you are there. It was funny, I had always assumed that my siblings and I were the only thing that my parents worried about but on those nights I learned that my parents were just normal people too. They laughed, joked, and talked about the news. So for one hour of the night I could see how my parents acted when they didn’t have to care for three screaming children.
I have long outgrown sitting on my steps and listening to my parents. I stay up much later than them and often make every effort to avoid my mother and her endless banter. I see my parents for a few hours each week.
Things just aren’t the same.
