"Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." How many Americans treated that statement by Benjamin Franklin as though it came straight from the Holy Bible. I know my mother did. My brother and I were put to bed promptly at 8:00 p.m. We were up by 8:00 a.m. as well.
I was pretty much a fraidy cat when I was young. I was afraid of dogs, but not the cute kittens on the farm where we got our milk, even though their sharp claws would get caught in my clothing and scratch my arms. I was afraid of the dust bunnies under the bed and the jello if it jiggled in the bowl as I was sure both were alive. I had a terrible case of "schoolitis." The doctor even prescribed belladonna to calm me enough to get to school without getting sick. At school I was afraid to raise my hand to answer the teacher's question, and terrified that she would call on me. But, I was not afraid of the dark!
Mr. Franklin had no understanding of those of us who are "night people." His influence is still felt today in that "night people" are generally looked down on as being lazy or irresponsible.
As soon as the light was turned out and my bedroom was dark, my mind went into high gear. I made up stories. Perhaps I was telling them out loud, because Mom would sometimes come and insist that I "get to sleep." I would figure out how to do things. I would think about how to draw something, or how to make something, or how something worked. I would get frustrated that by morning I would forget some wonderful insight I had during the night. I took to hiding under the covers some paper, a book and a pencil or crayon. Then when I had an idea I wanted to remember, I would draw it in the dark. (This was before I could write.) In the morning I couldn't wait to see if what I had drawn looked like I thought it should. One night I made the mistake of taking a flashlight to bed so I could see what I drew, but I got caught. I couldn't tell time, and if I could there was no clock to see, so I don't know how long it was until I went to sleep. My guess, looking back, is that it was likely near midnight.
As you can tell those dark nights were special for me as I still remember them. In fact, I still find myself ready to tell a story or troubleshoot a problem when I climb into bed. I have to put those thoughts out of my mind so I can spend some time in prayer in the dark of the night.
2 comments:
Wow! I'm so much like you. Afraid of everything when I was younger (and still a little bit) and a night person. In fact, I ought to be in bed now. :)
I love the nighttime. There is something peaceful yet mysterious about it. So many people don't understand why I like to be up so late. I think you just have to be a night person to "get it."
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