Just when you thnk you're the coolest kid on the block..

I love going to bed at night. Getting all cozy, reading a book or watching tv before I fall asleep. In the winter I turn on my electric mattress pad about an hour before bedtime because I hate cold sheets. It's heavenly to get into the nice, warm bed when it's raining or cold outside. I come from a long line of people who love to sleep, and fall asleep easily. My dad fell asleep in the front row of a Fats Domino concert. My aunt fell asleep during a family poker game. And I once had to stand up to watch a movie on tv just so I wouldn't fall asleep for the third time!

Even as a kid I loved going to bed and sleeping. From girls at work, and from my daughter, I hear about their woes in getting their kids to bed at night. My parents never had a worry. I was the perfect little angel who gleefully strolled to bed when told to do so. Well, except for a couple of times.

When I was four or five, I very clearly remember one special night when my whining voice was in high gear. I didn't want to go to bed and I made that perfectly clear to my parents. So my mother said, "Okay, Sandy [I spelled my name with a "y" back then], you can stay up and watch tv with me and Dad, but you have to stay up as long as we do." "Yippee!!" I thought.

Mom plopped me in the middle of them and we watched tv. After a couple of shows (probably Dinah Shore, Perry Como, Dragnet), I finally got sleepy and announced that I was going to bed. "Oh, no" said my Mom. "You have to stay up with us until we go to bed, remember?" So, not to be outdone, I struggled to stay awake. To no avail. I was sleepy and wanted to get into my nice soft bed. But, noooooooo. My head was flopping around, I was fidgety, probably making pitiful little martyr sounds. Finally tv was over for the night and we all went to bed. I can tell you it was a long time before I asked to stay up late again!

Then I got a bit more cunning. Somewhere around six or seven, I went to bed one night and heard my parents watching I Love Lucy. Man, I wanted to watch that show, too. But I didn't dare ask. My bedroom was down the hall from the living room and at the juncture of hall and living room there was a floor heater. Mom used it as a clothes dryer - she would put the laundry on the folding wooden clothes and place the rack over the heater vent so they could dry. I crept out of my room and hid behind the rack. Heh, heh, heh - If I bent over a little bit I had a clear shot of the tv between my dad's shirt and one of my mom's aprons. I was so clever I even stunned myself. Had to stifle all laughter. Got a bit uncomfortable being all stooped over but it was worth it. Oh, that Lucy and Desi. Finally the show was over. I had won! I was so proud of myself! Until I heard my mom say, "The show's over, Sandy, you can go to bed now" She knew! All the time I thought I was being so brilliant she knew. And she didn't even have the courtesy to let me sit somewhere comfortable instead of bending over like a pretzel trying to peek through the clothes.

It's amazing I survived my childhood.