Have I ever told you how I feel about naps? I love them. No, I need them. I think a good nap can really change your entire perspective on your day. Not ready to fold the laundry? Take a nap. Can’t face putting the dishes away? Take a nap. Can’t commit to filling out your Publisher’s Clearing House Sweepstakes finalist form? (After all, someone with my initials is about to be a big winner) Take a nap. The right amount of shut-eye can do wonders for the mind, body and soul.
So, it would stand to reason that being the proponent of napping that I am I would extend this belief onto my children. And I have. Avery, my soon-to-be 7 year-old took naps through her Preschool years and even into the first half of her Kindergarten year. Naps gave her some much needed rest and gave me some much needed time. Jack, my 3 year-old has followed suit. He has been a steady napper from the beginning and benefits greatly from a little extra shut-eye.
Until recently.
We have spent the last two evenings battling a sudden night-owl. Jack, who used to go to sleep at eight o’clock on the dial, has started behaving like a frat boy gearing up for a party. All we have missing is the keg of beer and giggling coeds.
This change became increasingly obvious to me last night. Let me explain. I was walking through the hallway, my arms loaded with folded clothes. and went quietly into a sleeping Jack’s bedroom (or so I thought.) I gently set the clothes down and turned around to tiptoe out of his room. As I stepped into the hallway, this is what I saw.
Okay, if I sit real quiet here and cover my eyes, no one will notice me.
Well, he’s partly right. I am pretty sure I passed by Jack at least once before finding him in the hallway. I bet he was feeling pretty smart as I breezed past him. Until I found him. And then I bet he was feeling pretty crappy as I marched his little butt back to bed.
After sharing some choice threats with my son, I left him to go to sleep, and continued on with my laundry, fully trusting my authority as a mother.
About 30 minutes after finding Jack crouched in the hallway, sending him back to bed and laying the smack down so-to-speak, I was getting ready to go to bed myself. I shut down the living room and headed towards my bedroom for some well-deserved REM.
And here’s what I found…again.
Hehehe…I am in like Flynn. These people have no idea I’m sitting here. Mom’s going to bed. Party’s on.
Crap.
Napping aside, Jack is certainly not the first kid to fight his bedtime. And he definitely will not be the last. My fear is that it his daytime sleeping that is causing this PM uproar. We will begin playing around a little bit with his sleeping schedule to see if we can find a solution that works for both Jack and me. If this little nighttime bruhaha keeps happening we may very well be giving the old he-ho to naps.
Lord help me.
Did I mention how much I love naps?
Mindy
