After a long battle with personal commitments and morals

In Emma’s head

And the constant reminder from friends, peers

Loved ones, Speech coaches, and parents

That the end was near

She finally let go

Of sleep in Saturday’s

For Emma, no Saturday was not, “For the boys”

It was for sleep

Tranquil, rejuvenating,

Get-over-the-nightmare-of-AP-classes-Homework-all-nighters

Sleep

She could sleep all day if her parents let her

Usually the sound of the key in the lock turning

Her mother coming into her room

Made her put her head in the pillow and pretend to not be awake

Yes, she fought the whole way

Sometimes she’d oversleep till 6:25 am

When she knew she had to be at school at 6:35 am

Ahhh…

She was always living on the edge

Hitting the snooze button

For just “five more minutes”

Her alarm was so loud the ERR ERR ERR vibrated all the way up

Waking up the entire col-de-sac

But not her

She’d have to get tossed awake the shaking hand of her father

“Emma get up you’re late for Speech!!!”

Those close to Emma

Knew her days of sleeping in were going to die

They watched the twinkle in her eye

Leave as she got up earlier and early every Saturday

Leading up to Speech

Her patience levels slowly decreasing

The bloodshot veins in her eyes multiplying by the weeks

11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, until…

She could wake up at 4 am

The flashing medals she won

That hang in her room will be a constant reminder

Of the sacrifices she made

Emma’s sleeping in days will be missed

Mostly by her

But also by her family

For dealing with the monster

First in the morning demanding “Coffee! Coffee!!! COFFEE!!!!!”

As eerie and persistent as a ghost

Then the deadly silent zombie

That would get in the car at 3:00 pm afterwards

And shuffle to bed napping the day away

There will be a time when she returns to us

There always will be

When Emma and her Sleep in Saturday’s will be reunited

But until then we remember

Her persistence, dedication, and love

Raise your glasses of Venti Iced White Mochas with three shots espresso

Just like what she orders every Saturday morning

To cope with the loss

It’s just how she would have wanted it