This is a pretty heavy commitment for me. I generally work 4-5 nights a week, after the kids are off to bed, from 7:30 to 10 or 11. Many Saturdays I work in the afternoon, as well.

Once or twice a week, I stay up late with my wife and we watch movies, or take a bath, luxuriating in the absence of the pervasive volume of children.

We rise between 4 and 6 in the morning, depending on when the kids wake up. I’ve heard of children that wake up and play quietly in bed until their parents wake up on their own, but like unicorns, I’ve never seen one of these mythical occurences myself.

I just finished the second draft of a long-form writing project, which I’ve been working on for nine months. Most times that I am working in the evenings, this project is what I have been working on.

Now that I’ve hit a milestone in the development of the project, I’m rewarding myself by sleeping a little bit more.

I can’t sleep in every morning; kids need to be herded, dogs need to be fed, babies need to be bounced on my knee, and coffee, glorious coffee must be drank in copious, excessive quantities.

Instead, I will take on the Tico custom of sleeping when it’s dark outside, and rising refreshed with the sun.

Next week, I’ll be a brand new man.

Dogpile.