I should feel lucky that this didn’t come earlier, I know. I shouldn’t feel disappointed, but I do. I shouldn’t feel a desperate pang of loss, but it is sharp nonetheless. We are at the end of an era. Braedyn is near, if not already at the end, of his naps.
He’ll be five next month, so I know this era has lasted much longer than many other children. But what the hell am I going to do now for MY quiet time!? This is when I blog. This is when I nap. This is when I read. This is when I get that ABC song I’ve heard an inordinate amount of times today out of my head. Boo hoo. Arm flailing toward forehead. Whoa is me.
He didn’t sleep today, even though his room was extraordinarily prepped for a killer nap. Dark room. Black light on. Glowing, spinning globe thingy providing white noise. Sound machine playing a soothing tune. Down comforter. Feather pillow. Quiet house. I’m jonesing for a nap just thinking about it.
So, how am I writing this today while he is awake? I did what any good parent needing a break would do. Turned on the TV. At least now my head isn’t swirling with “Now I know my A B Cs, won’t you come and sing with me.” Instead it’s jammin’ to “If we can count on you, Scooby Doo, I know you’ll catch that villain.”
I don't know if this helps, but I will share. My mom made us stay in our rooms and pick some activity that we could do on our beds. I chose reading, my sister would look out the window wishing she could play outside or color pictures, brother would do puzzles. Feet were not to touch the floor and there was to quiet at all costs (no TV, no dessert, no play time outside). A timer would be set (I have a suspicion this was the end of a soap opera) and then we could be up and noisy again. This went on until I was close to eight, then we were kicked out of the house for hour long periods to roam the yard or neighborhood. Even though we were past napping, sometimes these activities would result in sleepiness on at least one child's part.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Amy! I do still make him stay in bed for a while, usually until his whining to get up makes me crazy. I like the idea of making it an official length of time though. Do you remember how long your mom would set the timer for? I'm thinking an hour. Thanks again for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI think it might have been an hour. How long is Guiding Light? I remember watching that show, too. So if we couldn't stay in bed playing quietly we may have been forced to watch soap operas. I don't remember hearing an actual alarm, btw. It was just my mom saying time's up. She was pretty clever. Our hour may have been shorter or longer depending on the day. . .
ReplyDeleteSusanne,
ReplyDeleteJacob was never a good napper, so it's a Moyle thing. Ho ho. Also, my mom started my baking career at 3 with pudding, cake, etc. around 4:40 each day. Otherwise I would have napped at say, 5 o'clock in front of the TV while she made dinner! I stayed up till 10:30 if she let that happen! Maybe cooking or baking will help your dinner prep? Hang in there!