Yesterday in the wee hours of the night I got an e-mail from my friend titled “from one raccoon to another”…I thought she had a hidden camera in my office and could see the days-long make up smudged around my tired eyes. But as I clicked on the link in her e-mail, I began to read an article referring to the newest sniglet, “Raccoon Mom”.

(If you are not sure what a singlet is, it is any word that does not appear in the dictionary, but should…our other favorite being Mompert)

It seems that a new phenomena is taking over the moms of today. With the day full of doing everything for the kids, dad and family, moms are taking to the night to have a little time to themselves – hence the term the raccoon.  More and more moms are opting to stay up late after kids go to bed to do their favorite things. It may be as simple as watching their favorite television program, doing a loved hobby or just getting uninterrupted time to clean; moms are forsaking sleep for a little peace and quiet time.

For the last 9 to 12 months I find myself doing most of my stuff late into the night. Once my little ones are down, I have the run of the house to unwind, relax and do the things I enjoy without that relentless tugging on my pant leg or plastic toys whizzing past my head. I find that I can get more done, fully enjoy what I am doing or just veg-out if I need to without the demands of anyone else. In fact, I have admitted to most of my friends to not call before 9:00am because I am still not fully awake, having been up late the night before.

When I read that article I was delighted and thrilled to hear I was not the only mother out there sacrificing sleep to review the Oscar dresses on You Tube, finish a scrapbook page or read one more chapter of a Nicolas Sparks novel. Sometimes I find my willingness to still be doing something at 2:00am a bit strange considering I am too tired for sex, laundry or cleaning the bathroom. Yet I somehow seem to get a second wind and ultimately get things done when most others would prefer to be sleeping.

If you are not sure if you are a raccoon mom, look at the time you are reading this post…(smiling) or check out this terrific article in the Globe and Mail.

Standing on my soapbox,

JB

Here are a list of other great singlet made famous by comedian Rich Hall, who created a series of sniglets on his hit HBO series Not Necessarily the News.

Carperimeter (n.): the event horizon extending along a wall where it meets a carpeted floor, into which food particles and debris fall in safety from the wrath of an upright vacuum.
Funch (v.): flipping and rotating your pillow at night in search of the cold spot
Furnidents (n.): The indentations left in carpet after moving heavy furniture.
Klup (n.): The rubbery black substance that forms on the rim of a ketchup bottle opening.
Lactomangulation (n.): The act–after failing to open a milk carton from the side labeled “open here”–of resorting to an “illegal rear entry” and opening it from the other side instead.
Snackosphere: The air inside a bag of potato chips.
Timefoolery: Setting the alarm clock ahead of the real time in order to fool yourself into thinking you are not getting up so early.

Soapbox is looking to hear your favorite Sniglet, send us one in our comments box.