my midnight children

since the start of summer vacation (and even before, mostly on weekends) thea was the one who stayed up late till past midnight to work on her digital art and chat with her forum friends. with summer vacation, paolo joined her (especially when their cousin redd would be here) staying up late, playing, watching tv, drawing, or just doing anything that caught his fancy. (and raiding the refrigerator too!)

one time, when redd was here, and on the eve of his 8th birthday, paolo and redd stayed up all night playing. i found them at 6am, sitting on the roof, watching the sun come up. : ) i worried a bit that they were not able to sleep, but then thought that since there are no classes anyway, they could sleep during the day. i smiled watching them, though, remembering my own childhood, and the sneaking downstairs from the mezzanine floor of our store where we lived, the tiptoeing while holding my sister's hand in the dark, and going down to our store playing with stuff, eating stuff, feeling secretive and powerful, delighting in our midnight adventures...

for the last two nights now, bea has joined them, too.

the first time yesterday, paolo and bea went to bed at 6am already. i only knew it because they woke me up as they each snuggled on either side of me, moving my arms so, so they could be wrapped in them. i woke up to find thea still on the pc and asked her what got the two little ones so alive and hyper all night.

she said they played outside digging up rocks in the little garden, looking for worms and snails. they they'd run around playing hide and seek. thrice, they jumped into their little pool and frolicked and squealed and giggled. all at midnight and after.

today, i woke up (while paolo and bea just went to bed) to find a small rock outside our door, with a candle attached to it, and pieces of burnt matchsticks around it. i asked thea again what that was, what the little ones did. thea shook her head and giggled as she told me--

apparently, paolo and bea lit the candle, melted its bottom and stuck it on the rock. then they lighted the candle and took turns trying to fart, trying to find out if their farts could blow the candle flame away. : S

i shake my head, too, even as i grin at their antics and energies.

i think someday they will look back on these midnight moments of their lives, and shake their heads and grin, too, ... at the mom who let them just have their fun, and be who they are.