9 Minute Intervals

Last Thursday we had a brief power outage. Just long enough to set the clocks a-blinking.

When we went to bed that night, Andrew turned on his alarm like he does every weekday night. It didn't occur to him to check it first (wouldn't have occurred to me either. But now it will!). If he had, he would have learned that the alarm time had reverted to 12 midnight. We went to bed on the early side that night, and fell heavily asleep. When the annoying beepbeepbeep of the alarm clock roused us at midnight, our heads were packed full of cotton balls. Andrew made it stop and we both fell immediately back to sleep. For a whole nine minutes, at which point it went off again because he had SNOOZED it, not turned it off. Stuff happens, no problem. I groggily suggested he turn it off rather than snoozing it, and gladly returned to dreamland when the beepbeepbeep stopped again.

For nine minutes.

People- he did not fully turn the thing OFF until 5:30am!! We were roused every nine minutes for five and a half hours!! Why didn't I get up and turn it off myself, you ask? Well, I was paralyzed and trapped by a newborn. Why didn't I suggest somewhat more strongly that he turn it off? I did, at least twice. But remember, I was paralyzed. And we were running a noisy swamp cooler plus a fan. I was probably pointing away from him. Andrew also was apparently fighting some sort of paralysis. Of the brain variety, perhaps. ;)

Friday was a rough day. But we learned a valuable lesson and added one more page of things to look back and laugh about in the book of our marriage....