Because the four a.m. hour is for blogging. 

Jill wakes up and checks phone. 3:56

Jill struggles her way out of bed to get to the bathroom and hears a soft little voice whisper ‘Jilly – you made it all the way to 4 without peeing’

Babe, I was congratulating myself for the same thing in my head. You are the sweetest. 

The Hess Station – where no milestone is too small to be celebrated. No accomplishment too trivial. No early morning pee overlooked.

Ryan also gets up as I chug water at the sink like it is the last drink I will ever be afforded. I glance up and notice in the glimmer of the nightlight that there’s a lady bug on the mirror. 

J (unabashedly exhilarated by the undeniable sign she’s receiving from the natural world): ‘Hunny! There’s a ladybug on the mirror. Maybe we are having a girl!!’ 

R (groggily after a solid minute): ‘…Or maybe there’s just a ladybug on the mirror.’

Ryan Hess, The voice of reason in the night.