I’ve been a recovering night owl for many years now and last night I relapsed. We’ve been having trouble getting Raelyn to sleep of late; seems she’s feeling scared about her new daycare and is very concerned we won’t be there for her in the morning. This “fretful” behavior has led to about a week’s worth of nights spent singing in her room until 10:15 or 10:30, a full hour later than her normal bedtime. Consequently I find it harder to go to sleep at our self-imposed curfew of 11, midnight at the latest. Last night was no exception.

Jenn drifted off to slumberland while I tickled her back watching Futurama. By midnight, it was just me and the remote control, and who am I to resist it’s siren call? So I did the channel surfing thing for about 10 minutes until I stumbled upon one of my favorite PBS documentaries of all time: An Ice Cream Show. The writer/producer/narrator, Rick Sebak, makes some of the most nostalgic, interesting and happy documentaries on the planet. His attunement to the wonder and minutiae of American life makes the kid in me giddy with excitement. I LOVE this guy’s work! (See also: A Hot Dog Program and Great Old Amusement Parks)

So I stayed up until 1AM watching a show I’ve seen probably half a dozen times. I didn’t eat any ice cream last night, but I felt like I’d had the largest, tastiest, most ornate sundae on the planet. My endorphins and I went to bed happy last night (albeit very late) and I didn’t have to count calories or go low carb.