Midnight Musings

Midnight Musings

The sweet release of the day.

The chime of the midnight hour.

The hour of stormy souls.

The witching hour. Or bewitching hour. Or even the hour of lovers’ dreams come true.

Midnight is that special time that’s outside of time. It’s neither today nor tomorrow, not now or then, and we struggle to remember if it’s 12:00 PM or AM.

It’s that magical moment when we can be here or there, us or them, real or imaginary.

It’s the hour of parties and celebrations … and tears that freely flow when our life goes wrong.

Anything goes at midnight. Our dreams take us to an exotic world where we can become what we never imagined we wanted to be. An astronaut, a deep-sea diver, even offer us a romantic liaison that takes us by surprise. We can race Corvettes down familiar roads, climb Mt. Everest in our summer wear, even surf Hawaii’s North Shore.

We call up friends, say, “I wish you were here,” or, “Why did you abandon me,” and we might cradle the phone as we hang up or slam it on the table.

A walk in the park under the moon and stars, with a friend, a dog, a lover, or even with our thoughts, just us and the darkness to see the tears run down our cheeks.

Then one day we wake up to find midnight has slipped by unnoticed. Breakfast for the kids, the dog needs out, and the towels are still in the dryer.

We rush to work, try to remember who we intended to call, and wish we had a more exciting job. A ballerina, perhaps. A TV actor. Maybe the person who prepares inviting sweets at our favorite bakery.

At the end of the day, we sit, tired, look at the clock, and think, ten? Can it be so late? Where has the day gone … oh, for my pillow!

We don’t even notice the hours of 11, 12, or 1.

If the hours run late, and we brush shoulders with midnight once again, it’s in a rush, or with dread, or with eyes so tired we never notice the chime of the hour that says, “Anything goes.”

Then, one day, the storms subside, our little ones have their own lives, we know we can no longer be anything we want to be.

We are what we have become.

Midnight musings are no longer ours. They have left us behind for those who can walk under the stars, call up old friends at crazy hours, or simply take the time to climb Mt. Everest in our summer wear or surf the North Shore in our dreams.