Wanted: Naps

For the past two weeks I've been dealing with a nap situation. The situation is that naps are not being had by a persistent three-year-old boy.

I know there may be some of you out there who would say that at three years and two months old he might be done with naps. To those of you I would reply, come on over to my house at 5 p.m. and I challenge you to tell me a nap he needs not.

I'm pretty sure the entire struggle revolves around a certain object that starts with the letter "N" and ends in "ukie."

Right around the time the naps were a thing of the past was that same time he chewed a giant hole in his nukie therefore making it unsuckable (word?) and, as we had warned him, needed to be disposed of.

There were no tears. No tantrums. No complaints. No arguments. But, as I've mentioned, there were also no naps.

So we've tried quiet time. When we said quiet time, William heard, "Start dismantling everything in your room." Every book is off the shelf. Every drawer in his dresser is opened and emptied. Wipes are removed from their tub. Covers and pillows are strewn about the room. Once we even found a bolt in his hand which apparently came off his bed frame. We think.

What was once my most peaceful time of the day to blog, clean, cook and unwind has now become my most stressful time of the day. Ten fold.

After nearly two weeks of no naps it finally caught up with him. This morning he woke up with a hacking cough. We went to school despite it and then took a quick jaunt to Trader Joe's for fruit. Back in the car he told me, "I just want to take a rest, mommy."

"OK," I said. "Do you want to have lunch?"

Lunch is his favorite meal of the day.

"No, mommy. I just want to rest."

And before I turned the car into the garage his eyes were shut.

I carried that big three-year-old upstairs to his bedroom. I gently removed his hat, mittens and coat. Then I tucked him in. Not even a eye blink did he give me.

Maybe he's sick? Maybe he's suffering from exhaustion?

Whatever it is, he's finally sleeping and I'm here, at the computer, with only the sound of my dryer and keyboard clicking. It's the best afternoon this mom has had in a while.