Bedtime

I never wear a watch. I just use my cell phone as my watch when I'm out, and when I'm home I do a lot of shouting to Jeff in the other room, "Do you know what time it is?!" I do this at increasingly frequent intervals when it starts to get late. I have this strange, irrational fear of losing track of time and accidentally staying up too late. Being a stay at home mom requires me to have about three times as much energy during the day as my previous jobs where I mostly sat at my desk all day and answered emails. Edie's also in the midst of a cold, which equals unpredictable sleep, making every minute count. Sleep is important and I can't afford to get distracted and go to bed too late. Jeff knows this.

After Edie goes to bed, we typically watch one or two episodes of tv on dvd (we're currently in the middle of season 5 of West Wing). So pretty much every other night Jeff plays a mean trick on me that goes something like this:

Me: That was a good episode.
Jeff: Yeah. (looks at watch and pauses for dramatic effect) Wow, it's later than I thought.
Me: (suddenly alert) What time is it?
Jeff: (looks at watch as if to double check) It's after eleven.
Me: (horror stricken) SERIOUSLY?
Jeff: No. It's 9:30.

Why does he take such pleasure in tricking me? And, more importantly, why do I fall for the same joke every time? I mean it - I fall for it every time.