The a.m. Hours

This morning Critter woke up at 2am for his feeding. Afterward, he decided it was playtime. According to Critter there is no time in the day more fun than the hours between 2 and 6 am. He didn’t necessarily play the entire time, but I’d say he played me. He already knows his mom is an old softie. Every time I would try to lay him down he would wake up. Eyeballs. To quote Bonehead, “Uh, Chas, I see eyeballs.”

Not this morning. Bonehead was busy snoring.

It’s OK though, because I honestly think some of Critter’s cutest moments happen between the hours of 2 and 6am. I wouldn’t want to miss them. There’s something completely adorable about playing handsies with his pudgy little fingers and watching his lips try to move deliberately as he coos at me in the quiet of the night.

By about 3:30am it’s not quite as cute. Most definitely by 11am at work the thought crosses my mind that it’s a good thing he’s so cute to begin with, because at that point there is no cuteness to be found in my tired and burning eyesight.

As eventually he began to doze in my lap (before my first attempt to lay him down and each try thereafter) I looked to my computer for entertainment. I found it all right. I found it in the form of the longest most perky earworm I have been infected by since Suzanne Vega’s song Tom’s Diner slunk its way into my head back in the 90’s. I still walk around humming that melody when I can’t think of anything better to hum.

My new earworm? I'm Yours, by Jason Mraz. I’m not sure what made me search for it online, except this unexplainable desire I had to hear it again. It’s bubbly yet strangely hypnotizing.

In fact, the last time I heard his new song it stayed with me for a solid 2 days. I even had the accompaniment follow me through my dreams. Now I smile and think there’s nothing quite like a repetitive soundtrack in the background while tornadoes chase me through cornfields and grocery stores because I forgot my locker combination while wearing a clown suit.

Maybe it’s a good thing Critter didn’t let me go back to sleep.