By the end of the movie it was around 11 and we were all a bit antsy. I tossed in The Matrix Reloaded, but after about 20 minutes of robotic speech, Keanu/Carrie-Anne serious making out, and a pretty cool tribal ritualistic dance scene, it was time to move on.

Dawn retired to our room with the baby to try to get him to sleep. I went up to Lily's room to watch The Little Mermaid 2 with her - lively freaking bunch we were. By the time it occurred to me to look at he clock, it was 12:20. I went to see what Dawn and Alex were up to, and she being both asleep and VERY easily startled (she jumps when someone farts at a neighbor's house), had one of her eyes-bulging-out, gasping-for-air episodes when I quietly and peaceably peered down at her in an effort to ascertain her status vis-a-vis consciousness.

It was at that moment I realized I am no longer 21, footloose and fancy free, and that my time is no longer my own, nor my life for that matter. In the big picture this is all pretty great and I wouldn't have it any other way, but the concrete REALITY of my condition was stark nonetheless.

I returned to The Little Mermaid 2 with Lily - centered upon Ariel's paranoia that her 12 year-old daughter would be drawn to the sea and mortal danger in the form of Ursula the Sea Witch's much thinner sister - which we both enjoyed more than was reasonable to expect and certainly more than The Matrix Reloaded. Then we went to sleep.

How's that for a kickass night of wild monkey partying? Dawn and I are finally going to see The Return of the King tonight with some babysitting assistance from my indulgent parents, and later on, big sister.

Happy New Year! What did you do last night?