We are spending the week at my family’s lake house on Canandaigua, as we do every Fourth of July. It’s one of the only times each year that my extended family gets together en masse, and we four always look forward to it … except maybe for the sharing of one bedroom (including a bunk bed, with Nick and me on the bottom – you know you’re jealous).

“Pssst! Mommy!”

Ggbufmmpz…

“Mommy! Daddy!”

Zzzggbvooa…

“ARE YOU AWAKE??”

I am, now.

“I’m trying to be quiet, but I don’t know what to do.”

You could raise the shade a little.

“What?”

I’m trying to whisper. Because other people are sleeping.

“WHAT, MOMMY? I CAN’T HEAR YOU!”

You could raise the shade a little so that you have enough light to read.

“Oh, good! That means I can put on some pants!”

Do I even want to know why you don’t have…

“What the heck is happening in here?”

“She does this every morning, Daddy.”

This is why we don’t all sleep in one room at home.

You’d think, inventing games like this each day, that they’d go to bed exhausted and sleep in niiiice and late. 

Nope!!!