Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Strange New (?) Syndrome

As the weather changed, and winter crept into our house, my teenage son has developed a strange syndrome. A syndrome, by definition is a cluster of symptoms. Despite extensive research, I have been, thus far, unable to settle upon a diagnosis. So let me give you a list of symptoms and you can tell me if you know what it is;


  • inability to lay head on pillow before midnight

  • inability to close eyes before midnight

  • profound hearing loss between 6 and 7am

  • inability to hear very loud noises (ie alarm) between 6 and 7am despite tendency to blast said-noises from stereo at all other hours

Any ideas? I just can't figure it out. What worries me most is the early morning hearing loss. I mean, this kid sets his alarm clock so that everyone in the house hears it. It bleeps and blares and practically shatters glass. His room is at a completely different part of the house from mine, and it wakes ME up. But go into his room, with fingers firmly plugged into your ears and you will see something quite disturbing. He is sound asleep. If it weren't for the racket seeping into your ears, you'd compare it to walking into a sleeping baby's room. So sweet, so peaceful, so...LOUD! But I do have good news to report. Though I haven't found a diagnosis, I have found a cure.


The cure came in the form of a cell phone. My son bought one a few months ago. And the other day when his alarm had awoken the neighborhood and continued on for a half-hour, I picked up my home phone and called his cell phone. To my complete surprise, he picked up right away.


"It's time to get up." I said.


"Mom," he said. "Why are you CALLING me?"


Apparently amnesia is associated with this syndrome as well

16 comments:

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Oh that is funny. Perhaps you can sneak into his cell phone and set the alarm? That's what I used for awhile when there wasn't an outlet near my bed.

Could have something to do with the frequency... (yes, my tongue is in my cheek).

Good luck!

Eileen said...

Hey Karen! This is Great! Love your creativity - sounds as though you found a solution to the sleep-through-alarm syndrome, at the CELLular level. Good job! See, you a scientist. =) EE
PS: Glad you back - missed you blog. (Wierd grammar I know. Just feels good at ze moment...!)
(http://russiawithlove.blogspot.com)

Dawn said...

LOL!! I know your blog is tongue in cheek, but if truly his "nightowl syndrome" started with the change of season, you may want to consider full-spectrum lightbulbs.

I always struggle with getting up in the morning, and in the winter it gets worse. The full spectrum light makes up for the lack of sunlight during the winter months. (Supposedly, I haven't tried it yet, because I'm dealing a lot better this year than last).

But it sounds like you've found a solution for the time being (until he starts remembering to turn off his ringer before he goes to bed!)

Karen Fisher-Alaniz said...

Melanie- maybe you're right. Perhaps he'd awaken to a light alarm instead of his blaring one. But I have a feeling that if it didn't have the prospect of someone (girlfriend?) on the other end of that cell...he'd still sleep through it.

Good to be back Eileen. CELLular level...that is so funny. Hmmm. Could there be an article in there somewhere?

Dawn- I've hard of those bulbs. Actually, when I was working for a school, the Special Ed. Administrators office purchased them for ALL their lights. Of course, we all thought it was interesting that they were so concerned with it and those pencil-pushers didn't have near the stress that a special ed TEACHER has. I saw an alarm clock years ago that has no alarm. It works by gradually lightening the room. I like that idea...wish I'd gotten it. It is hard to get out a snuggley warm bed when it's cold and dark out. ~Karen

Anonymous said...

Just testing so that I can tell my Dad how to do this. ~Karen

Karen Fisher-Alaniz said...

OK...here's how to do it Dad;

1. Click on "Comments"
2. Write comment in box
3. Click on "nickname" box and write your name in it.
4. Click on "publish comment"

And wah-lah! You're done. ~Karen

Anonymous said...

ok Karen...here is a trial balloon.

Anonymous said...

Hi Karen....it says 6 comments on your blog but on here it says 7 comments..oh well...it seemed to work. I guess I FIRST of all click on Leave you comment and then the text and then my nickname and then anonymous. I presume I need to do a bunch more stuff to get my name and/picture on it like the rest of you. Dad

Nita said...

Very funny KarenBob, yet another humorist among us :).

That said, Hey Karen's Dad, looks like you got the hang of this thing. Good to see you posting on your darling daughter's blog. Now, if you can just teach her how to get grandson out of bed without waking the rest of the county bet she'd much appreciate it :) Nice to see you here.

Dawn said...

Soon you'll have a blog of your own, Karen-Bob's Dad. :D

By the way, I just tagged your daughter. ;) Karen will explain.

Anonymous said...

Hi Nita and Dawn: Thanks for the note.....and also Karen and all her help. Of course Karen's son also only lives three blocks away and often stays overnight here. Being grandparents we have the option of just forgetting he is there and let him sleep!
But after 86 years of getting up for various reasons...I did have what was the perfect solution for US at least. Years ago we had a clock radio that had an outlet operated by the timer also...We plugged in the bedside lamp and when the alarm went off we heard nothing...just slowly and silently it got brighter in there and we hardly noticed we were then wide awake.

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