leave someone asleep
Shh. Let her sleep, dad.The Intern · 2015 — Chapter 4 of 18 · 2'09" · B1
Two Parents Keep Dozing Off, Explained: me time
Two parents finally have the house quiet and a plan for a real talk, but sleep keeps interrupting: 'I just passed out.' What sounds like exhaustion is also a confession — one of them admits to wanting 'a little me time,' and the reply is 'I know.'
What happens
At home after the house quiets down, two adults try to have the talk they planned. Someone keeps nodding off; a line says 'I just passed out.' They trade notes about the day — a new word a child learned, a joke about adult Lunchables — and then the real subject surfaces: needing time alone.
Listen for
can't cook-ablesgrown-up conversationpassed outcracks me up
00:00 / 02:09Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
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Phrase of the scene
me time
time to oneself
Someone half-jokes about not wanting to sound like other mothers, then admits a real need for some me time.
I love my kids, but I need an hour of me time after work.
Also in this scene
- can't cook-ables
a pun on Lunchables for non-cooks
- grown-up conversation
a serious, mature conversation
- passed out
to fall into a deep sleep
- cracks me up
makes me laugh
- can't keep my eyes open
to be too sleepy to stay awake
Everything marked in this scene
23 notes across 29 lines
Blend 'Let her' so the h almost disappears in fast speech.
Shh. Let her sleep, dad.time clause: The when-clause sets the moment of hearing before the main reaction.
When I heard that, I was like, "good, Because I definitely wasn't eating lunchables before."release a new product Here it means releasing something new.
Yeah, they're coming out with A more grown-Up version of lunchables.a more adult version of
Yeah, they're coming out with A more grown-Up version of lunchables.stay awake late
I tried to stay up.Keep the final t in 'just' light and slide straight into 'passed'.
I'm sorry I fell asleep in there. I just passed out.fell into a deep sleep — Casual talk about exhaustion; too blunt for formal writing.
I'm sorry I fell asleep in there. I just passed out.had intended to do something
I know we had a plan to have a grown-Up conversation.object clause: I know takes a that-clause, so the whole plan sits inside what the speaker knows.
I know we had a plan to have a grown-Up conversation.watch something on Netflix The platform name is used as a verb meaning to find something to watch.
You want to Netflix something?dozed off briefly Here it means briefly falling asleep, not falling out.
I'm sorry. I just fell out for a second.learned to pronounce a word
Paige learned to say "humongous" today.huge — Playful and informal; use 'huge' in formal writing.
Paige learned to say "humongous" today.makes me laugh — Warm and casual; avoid in formal reports or speeches.
Cracks me up.sound like other mothers Not about voice; it means adopting the manner of other mothers.
Oh, god. You know I hate to sound like the other moms.begin to feel that
But I'm starting to feel like I need a little me time.a bit of time to oneself
But I'm starting to feel like I need a little me time.object clause: Feel like introduces a full clause about what the speaker needs.
But I'm starting to feel like I need a little me time.Let the t in 'little' tap quickly instead of hitting both syllables hard.
But I'm starting to feel like I need a little me time.stay awake
Can't keep my eyes open, Jule.Run 'keep my eyes' together, with a faint y-glide between 'my' and 'eyes'.
Can't keep my eyes open, Jule.switch off your light
Can you turn out your light?Two Parents Keep Dozing Off, explained
What's really going on
The tiredness is real, but it is also doing quiet work. 'I know we had a plan to have a grown-Up conversation' names the thing they keep failing to do: talk like adults instead of two people trading schedules. Every attempt gets interrupted by sleep — 'I just fell out for a second.' The detour through kid talk, a child saying 'humongous' and a riff on grown-up Lunchables, keeps the mood light while the harder sentence waits. When it comes — 'I'm starting to feel like I need a little me time' — the reply is a flat 'I know': agreement, not a solution. Nobody fights. The weight is in how gently a need gets stated, and how easily it slides into 'We'll do it tomorrow, okay?'
Theme
ParenthoodTwo parents trade notes about their kid, then admit what caring for everyone costs them.
MarriageA planned talk keeps dissolving into sleep, and a stated need is met with "I know," not a plan.
Listen for
- Let her — Blend 'Let her' so the h almost disappears in fast speech.
- just passed — Keep the final t in 'just' light and slide straight into 'passed'.
- a little — Let the t in 'little' tap quickly instead of hitting both syllables hard.
- keep my eyes — Run 'keep my eyes' together, with a faint y-glide between 'my' and 'eyes'.
I'm sorry I fell asleep in there. I just passed out.An apology plus a plain admission: not a nap by choice but total exhaustion — sleep that took over.
I know we had a plan to have a grown-Up conversation.Acknowledging the talk they promised each other and never managed to have tonight.
But I'm starting to feel like I need a little me time.A request, phrased carefully: some hours that belong to her alone, without kids or chores.
Can't keep my eyes open, Jule.A plain statement of exhaustion: too sleepy to stay awake, so the talk has to wait until tomorrow.
Questions about this scene
Why do they never have the conversation they planned?
Sleep keeps interrupting. A line says 'I just passed out,' later 'Can't keep my eyes open, Jule,' and the talk is pushed to tomorrow with 'We'll do it tomorrow, okay?'
What reply does the request for me time get?
Two words: 'I know.' No argument, no promise, no plan — just acknowledgment that the need is real.
What does 'Cracks me up' respond to?
The line about Paige learning the word 'humongous' gets the reply 'Cracks me up,' then the child's line about a 'humongous dad.'
What is the joke about Lunchables?
Someone says a more grown-up version is coming, then puns "so you still can't cook-ables" — a riff on the kids' snack for adults who still don't cook.
Do they actually have the grown-up conversation in this scene?
No. The plan is named — "we had a plan to have a grown-Up conversation" — and then traded for sleep: "We'll do it tomorrow, okay?"
The Intern · 18 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 5slammedBen Arrives at Jules's House
Chapter 1gave me the drillBen Meets His New Boss
Chapter 2make the trains run on timeJules Is Told to Consider a CEO
Chapter 3goes without sayingBen Confronts the Drinking Driver
Watching · Chapter 4me timeTwo Parents Keep Dozing Off
Chapter 5slammedBen Arrives at Jules's House
Chapter 6stay-at-home dadJules Gets the Guacamole Assignment
Chapter 7force of habitBen's Old Factory Reveal
Chapter 8brownnoseIntern Sets Up Facebook Profile
Chapter 9jumped the gunBen Gets His Job Back
Chapter 10I happen to thinkBecky Breaks Down at Work
Chapter 11little does ... knowJules's Team Plans a Break-In
Chapter 12no such thing asFake Alarm at Jules's Mom's House
Chapter 13above and beyondCoworkers Toast After a Heist
Chapter 14glass ceilingBen Takes Paige to a Birthday Party
Chapter 15bowl of mushBen Comes Back Flushed
Chapter 16pull offBenjamin Opens Up About His Marriage
Chapter 17take the rapA Wife Reveals Her Husband's Affair
Chapter 18add upBen Talks Jules Out of Giving UpChapter 4 of 18 · about 37 min to go