Pulling an all-nighter, (wink-wink)

Waking Faith in the morning isn't usually easy. I remember how tough it was to "rise and shine" as my mother would say. If I didn't budge sometimes she'd return with the cry, "Rise snakes and face the judgement." (I have no idea where that one came from.) I've always tried to be gentle while rousing her by getting into her bed and rubbing her back or lightly touching her head and hair. Because I've worked nights most of her life, my husband normally puts her to bed. While I was anchoring television news in her baby days, I could do much of my script editing and proofreading from my home computer, so I would nurse her before putting her down. Once I started writing for The Telegraph, I couldn't be home at bedtime, but she was weaned by then. Her daddy learned to get her to sleep by rubbing her back. Just when he thought she was asleep, she'd say, "Daddy rubba my back." It was a mantra. And the back-rubbing has become routine. On my days off, I get to be the "rubber." The other night, I climbed into bed with her, we said prayers and I gingerly stroked her back until she dosed off. The next morning, I got back in bed and started rubbing her softly to awaken her. All of a sudden, her eyes opened wide, she sat up and exclaimed, "Mommy, you rubbed all night!" I partially confessed by saying I did have to get up to go to the bathroom. I left out the fact that I watched television for a few hours, slept in my room and then got up for the bathroom before coming back into her room. That's our secret, OK? Wink. Wink.
- Liz Fabian