Dad, this post is for you.
Around 3 AM this morning, I passed a new milestone of life.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. The story starts 12 years ago. It was a Saturday morning. Being a 16-year-old kid, Saturdays were sacred. Our school board was under the mistaken impression that it was smart for older kids to go to school earlier than younger kids, and so my weekdays started at 6 AM, and I was showered and sitting behind a desk by around 7:40. I longed for Saturdays.
My dad has a great sense of humor, and having purchased top-of-the-line stereo systems for both my older brother Andy and myself, knew just how to put them to use on this particular Saturday morning. Around 7 AM he sauntered into my room, pilfered the remote control to my stereo, tuned the radio to his favorite bluegrass station, and gave the volume knob a good whirl. He had already done the same in Andy’s room, and for good measure he had also turned the stereo in the living room (with the two-foot-tall speakers sporting a rear-ported 12-inch woofer in each one directly through the wall behind my head) to the same loving tones of banjo, dobro and high tenor. There are some things that two pillows can’t muffle.
Yes, on Saturday morning I ended up not-showered and sitting behind the steering wheel of a lawn mower by 9 AM.
But the curious thing is that Dad always called it “just getting payback for all the times you got me out of bed.” And I never really knew what he was talking about. Sure, he had explained that when I was younger I woke him up. But there is a difference between being told the stories and living them.
Last night I lived it. Benjamin is on an antibiotic that we think is the culprit keeping him awake at night. He sat wide-eyed and staring at me from about 1:55 AM until 3:07, when I passed the milestone, and got to see a glimpse into my father’s world. In addition to that time, he probably sat awake for more than 3/4 of the rest of the night.
So here’s to you, Dad. I think we can call it even now. I’m shopping online for stereos for my son’s room.