Midnight: a Childhood Wee World Wonder

When I was very young I remember asking what people meant when they talked about Midnight. One of my parents explained to me that it was 12 o'clock, the time that night became day again. My young mind was facinated, and filled with many questions: If it was day again how come it wasn't light yet? How many times had my dad stayed up til midnight? Was it different? Could I try and do it tonight? The adults smiled behind their hands as they tried to tell me that my marvelous midnight wasn't very different from the time that I had to (reluctantly) go to bed, somewhere around eight. Still I would ask frequently if I could stay up and watch Whoopi Goldberg on her late night talkshow. (I didn't have any idea what it was actually about but I had seen a commercial about it airing at midnight and desperately wanted to see it.) I remember being extemely excited to stay up on my first New Years Eve and barely being able to wait for the clock to strike that special hour. It really didn't end up being as spectacular as the midnights of my imagination, but I never have forgotten that feeling of a child's freedom, the Wee World Wonder of life through little eyes.