Thursday, June 13, 2013

Bed In Summer

Robert Louis Stevenson has some insight into how kids feel about going to bed in the summer.~~~~~ In winter I get up at night~And dress by yellow candle-light.~In summer quite the other way,~ I have to go to bed ny day.~~~~~~I have to go to bed and see~The birds still hopping on the tree. ~Or hear the grown-up peoople's feet~still going past me in the street.~~~~~~ And does it not seem hard to you,~when all the sky is clear and blue,~And I should like so much to play~ To have to go to bed by day?

30 comments:

cube said...

I've always been a night owl and now I'm an insomniac. I never had the problem of which Stevenson so eloquently spoke.

sue hanes said...


Cube - When I wrote that I wondered if many kids are allowed to stay up until dark. But I supose the little ones still have to go to bed in daylight.

I usually don't let it bother me if I go to bed early. Not much going on here to keep me up. :]

cube said...

When my girls were little they complained about going to bed when it was still light out, but we were consistent with enforcement of bedtime rules.

I was one of those bratty kids who didn't sleep much and I vowed when I had children of my own, that they would have strict rules for going to bed.

sue hanes said...


Cube - My younger daughter's kids are still small and they hang blankets over the window to keep the room fairly dark. I did the same thing when they stayed with us. It worked pretty well.

I prefer sleeping in a dark room but I manage ok with the light.

Now I can't imagine you as a bratty kid. : ]

cube said...

Oh Sue, you have no idea what a brat I was. I was one of those double-promoted, high IQ kids who, when not changed intellectually, got bored and acted out in pranks.

It is a testament of my parents' love that they didn't throttle me in my sleep ;-)

sue hanes said...


Cube - Actually - I believe you. Not that you were bratty but that you were intellectual. We are all glad that your parents let you grow and develop into the blogger that you are today.

cube said...

Sue, I was bratty. Unbelievably bratty. You have no idea.

My mother once told me I would know once I had children of my own... and now I do.

sue hanes said...


Cube - Well - I happen to think you are pretty nice.

I'm sure your girls aren't bratty -they?

sue hanes said...


are they?

cube said...

Thanks, but believe me, I've mellowed in my old age.

God has graced me with two beautiful, smart daughters that are not anywhere near the trouble I was to my parents.

Hey, I grew up in the '70s.

sue hanes said...


Cube - In the 70's I had my two girls and I was a busy but loving young mother. I only partially absorbed the culture - since my mind was on other things.

cube said...

One of my girls came to the wild-eyed revelation recently that I dated in the '70's. They've heard so much crazy stuff that it makes them think it was wilder than it was.

sue hanes said...


Cube - I think things are exaggerated over time. I also think that the bad times are partially forgotten and the good things remembered.

Maybe that's not really true.

cube said...

I guess you're right, but they've been programmed to believe how wild those times were, and they believe it. I find it quite annoying that they think I was wilder that I really was.

sue hanes said...


Cube - Maybe sometimes they are just putting you on - to get your goat - so to speak.

cube said...

To quote my thermodynamics professor, "I don't have a goat."

1.21roots said...


Cube - You had a thrermodynamics professor? Cool.

I bet you had some other impressive professors also.

sue hanes said...

Back to my old name.

cube said...

Glad you're back to your name...

I had some terrific professors over the years... some were turkeys, but the lessons from the exceptional ones live in my heart today.

One very sweet story starts with one my earliest classes at USF in invertebrate zoology. After that I had to stop going to classes for years because of work and mommy-tracking duties, etc..

The rules of graduation changed and I had to take some extra classes as exit requirements. Well, I chose Greek In Literature Translation. I was very close to this professor and, I din't know it at the time, but he was the life partner of the professor I had had for invert zoo so many before.

I didn't find that out until the invert zoo prof died and there was an article in the paper.

Imagine that... bookend professors... one for science and one for humanities.


sue hanes said...


Cube - Interesting story. One of the professors I remember the most was my zoology prof. On the day that we got out for Christmas break he gave everyone that attended claass an A for that day.

His lecture ended up with a drawing of Santa claus. He was famous for that here.

cube said...

Drawing Santa? I wish I could've gotten off that easy. I had one organic chemistry professor that gave one point if you put a smiley face by your name, but then he proceeded to flunk the entire class with an unfairly hard test.

When we got our tests back there was a procession of students heading to the Dean's office to complain.

He ended up having to give everyone 45 points.

sue hanes said...


Cube - Don't get me wrong. This guy was a brilliant professor. The drawing of the Santa was only after a good lecture.

I had a music theory professor that was really hardnosed. He made it hard to pass his class. I barely made it by the skin of my teeth.

Now I know you are going to say that there is no skin on my teeth.
Where did that expression come from anyway?

My mother was 97 when she died a year ago February. We used to talk on the phone three times a day. We got going on these old expressions and would try to think where they came from. She had some good ones.

cube said...

I believe it, Sue. He sounds like a good teacher. The idiot organic chemistry teacher was one of my worst teachers. I had plenty of hard testing professors, but if they taught well, I accepted it... he didn't teach well.

Music theory... now that sounds interesting. I never took any class like that.

Sue, you know no such thing. I can appreciate hyperbole as well as anyone else. BTW the expression comes from the Book of Job in the Old Testament (Chapter 19 Verse 20).

I'm sorry you lost your mom. At 97 it sounds like she had a nice, long life. I hope I live that long.

At this point, I'm not ready to think think about the world without my mother.




sue hanes said...


Thanks. She did have a nice long life. My dad lived to be 98. My mother-in-law was 101. It took some adjusting to get along without my mother since we talked on the phone everyday.

So you know your Bible verses. That is contrary to a scientist's knowledge. Einstein had to give up his religion to be a true scientist. Earlier in his life he was religious but the two were in conflict with each other.

cube said...

Wow. Your family is blessed with longevity. We should all be so lucky.

I don't know Bible verses that well at all. I'm a lapsed Catholic. I lapsed a long time ago, but I still believe in a creator.

Something larger than me had to put the carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen in the universe to get life started.



sue hanes said...


Cube - You are so right. Whenever I think of life - us and nature I wonder how people cannot know there is a creator. I think that they do know but they just won't admit it.

I know there is a creator. Nothing could make me change my mind.

So you were a Catholic. My mother was a diehard Catholic but I was raised Methodist. I don't think a whole lot of the Catholic church.

I can say that - can't I? Since you are lapsed. :]

cube said...

Believing in a creator is a leap of faith that some are unwilling to take. That's their choice and I can accept that. I don't want to force my views on other people... I just ask that they respect mine.

BTW you can say anything you think to me, Sue. I won't take it personally. Go for it. I can take it. Really :-)

I lapsed from Catholicism because of the actions of the priests, but I still admire the nuns. They do great work. My girls went from 1st grade to high school graduation in Catholic schools.

I wouldn't have shelled out that kind of money if I had thought their education would've been better in a public school.

sue hanes said...


Cube - I apologize for saying that about the Catholic church. I've gotting in trouble for saying it before. There are certain things I don't agree with in that church but it serves the needs of so many people.

I'm sure your girls got a good education in the church.

cube said...

You don't have to apologize to me. I've probably said worse.

We didn't want our girls in the public school in the area of our first home so we opted for this small Catholic school.

When I matriculated my oldest for first grade, the office secretary offered to hold my youngest, who was a baby at the time, while I filled out the paperwork. That woman was still at the school when my baby graduated 8th grade.

It was a religious school, run by nuns, but we didn't see the harm of the girls getting exposed to religion especially since they didn't get any at home.




sue hanes said...


Cube - Thanks for not being offended by my remarks - but I do feel I owe you the apology. I have a number of things that I have against the Catholic church - but as I said - they serve a very large number of people - who most likely need them.

I'm glad your girls got a good education - and the religion too.