I challenge any one of you Real Women to tell me that at the end of any weekday evening, you simply decide to go to bed, and do just that.  You know, like men do.  When my husband decides it is bed time, up he goes.  Do not pass go, do not collect $200.

My “going to bed” process basically starts after my son is in bed.  But it can be anywhere between an hour and three hours before I’ve actually completed that task – especially if I dare actually take a half an hour off to sit and watch some tv or read.  There are any number of side-trips to be taken on that “going to bed” voyage: first there is picking up the shrapnel of the day…. (like video game cases that were “forgotten” in the “clean up” process, multiple pairs of dirty socks that just mysteriously appear, and every dog toy imaginable in odd places just waiting to be tripped on in the dark)…then there is the school lunch prep, the work lunch prep, start the dishwasher, switch the current load of laundry….write up a note for the dog-walkers, fill out a field trip approval form…water the plants that are shriveled from neglect, toss errant drink glasses into the sink, get the dog out to do his last evening pee.    I know I’m not alone in this tour of duty.

At some point, I manage to make it into the bedroom, usually carrying an arm load of what-not to be dealt with at a later date.  My hubby is cocooned in bed, the tv on, and looks at me with that confused look that I know means “where the heck have you been?”   I sometimes think he believes I’m having a late night party with stealth Chippendales men in the basement….after all, what else could be keeping me from coming to bed at bedtime??