It's my Birthday!

My birthday was this week, and as much as I love celebrating- the laundry waits for no woman. I have a ton of chores and not a lot of time for writing, so I've decided to rerun an oldie I did for my blog tour. As you can imagine, most of my birthday gifts were books. You can find the original article here.

It's two o'clock in the morning and I'm in hiding. 

Some girls might be in a club, sparkly and shining, pumping fist to a thumping rhythm. Some girls might be drunk, in the back of a police car, hunched over and groaning- mascara running lines down their face. Some girls are doing things they're going to regret in the morning, walking home with heels in hand.

Smart girls are asleep.

I am not a smart girl. I am not asleep. 

Remember when you were twelve and your mom would say, "shut the light off! Close the book! Go to sleep!" And you would ask, "just one more chapter, puh-lease?"


That was me for as long as I can remember; except now I'm all grown up.  There is no mom forcing me to close my book.

 
However, I am married. 
Hence the hiding.

 My husband doesn't understand the obsession. Book obsession. My drug of choice.


There used to be interventions now and then. He would find them under the bed, behind the couch, stuffed in a closet. He would box them up and insist I donate them to a new home.

"New home?" I would ask redundantly. 
"This is their home."

I remember having my first baby, her birth day. She spent most of the time sleeping or eating.

I spent most of the time nursing or reading. 

It was heavenly. I got through three books that day. 

My mother visited me in the hospital. My daughter was asleep in her crib and I was in the middle of rereading Matilda. 

"You know," she said, "you're not going to be able to read as much with children."


My husband looked relieved and I just scoffed at her. 

I have three children now, and I read as much as ever. 

It's the sleep I've had to give up.


It's two o'clock in the morning, and I'm praying the light from my iPad doesn't give me away.

It's two o'clock in the morning, and I'm in hiding.

-Laura