Hush. It’s eight o’clock. A magical hour. Hush. Tiptoe, lower your voice, turn down the lights. It’s eight o’clock.
All over the land freshly bathed, and now scented of baby shampoo and talcum powder, the little folk are succumbing. They settle in cots and tiny beds, one thumb in their mouth and the other clutching the covers. Slowly they drift away to fairytale lands, places like the Land of Nod. Some are already there, one foot twitching with a dream. Others are still seeing shadow shapes on the ceiling, plotting tomorrow’s voyage in a cardboard boat or squaring up to do battle with the monster under the bed.
Hush. It’s eight o’clock. A magical hour. Hush. Tiptoe, lower your voice, turn down the lights. It’s eight o’clock.
Downstairs there’s another world. Parents crash onto sofas, exhausted at the bathtime and bedtime drills and battlegrounds. Maybe some are guiltily flicking on the television, surely they can relax for a bit. Others are still on duty, loading washing machines, preparing tomorrow’s lunches or squaring up to do battle with the monster in the corner, the ironing basket.
Hush. It’s eight o’clock. A magical hour. Hush. Tiptoe, lower your voice, turn down the lights. It’s eight o’clock.
There’s quiet and peace in both these worlds though. A time of focus and distraction free work or maybe even a little time to wind down and find some coveted me-time. These worlds won’t meet again for a few hours until parents too climb up the stairs to the Land of Nod to meet their children, days at the park, days at the seaside, plans yet to happen.
Hush. It’s eight o’clock. A magical hour. Hush. Tiptoe, lower your voice, turn down the lights. It’s eight o’clock.
Unless from somewhere out of the dark comes the dreaded pad-pad of little feet. Little feet stirring and marching with purpose. A querulous voice sounds out of the dark:
“I WANT A DRINK OF WATER!”
This week we were asked to respond to:
8:00 -AM or PM, fiction or creative nonfiction but 8:00. In 200 words or less.
I’m a ‘little’ bit over (by about half again!) but it was fun to write.
