Late night inspiration

The creative process at work, in theory, allows at least a few days to just think about a project because often the best ideas come to you when you least expect it: in the shower, while driving, washing dishes, etc.

In the case of this blog, my inspiration sometimes comes in the middle of the night. Because that's when these two wake up.

Two nights in a row. Sort of a 'which came first, the chicken or the egg?' situation. Who woke up whom? Tuesday night it was Sydney's cries that woke me first. Just as I was reaching her room, I heard AJ's frantic calls, "I have to go potty!"

"By all means, get up and go!"

Last night (early this morning, to be more exact) Sydney's cries again woke me. I got to her room and crawled into her bed to quiet her. And that's when I heard a loud cough, followed by the somewhat clumsy sounds of AJ hurriedly climbing from bed.

"I have to wash my hands!" AJ shouted, to no one in particular.

Yes, my child who is too scared to climb out of bed in a dark room when he has to go to the bathroom, feels a far greater sense of urgency to wash his hands after coughing into them. I quietly climbed from Sydney's bed to see if AJ needed any help. No, by the time I got into the bathroom, he was standing on a stool, with water running, carefully rubbing soap over every finger.

Ever since news broke last spring of the Swine Flu epidemic, I've figured it's not a question of if, but when we'll be dealing with this virus at our house. With AJ going to two different preschools starting in a few weeks, he'll be exposed to two different sets of kids and all the germs that go with them.

But perhaps I can rethink that. It is AJ after all. With him and his obsessive germaphobic tendencies, I think the H and N in H1N1 could stand for "Heck no!"