The end of an era

Scooter is in the process of giving up his afternoon nap.

I remember when we weaned him of his morning nap. On purpose. It was as he got ready to enter a home daycare, and we wanted to get him in sync with their schedule. That wasn’t too bad, and we still had nice long afternoon naps to make up for it.

The end of the afternoon nap was not our idea. Scooter has been moving in this direction entirely of his own volition. Right now he might sleep a couple times a week, mostly when he’s not feeling well. And most of those instances happen at school and not at home. But even there, when I check the nap board at preschool, I most often see the notation “Rest” next to his name.

We’ve reached a bit of a compromise at home on the weekends. It’s no longer “nap time,” but “rest time.” Most of that is spent on his bed, but not under the covers. Cars and trucks have a habit of making their way into the bed. But at least Trillian and I get a little downtime.

Now, believe it or not, this post is not really about Scooter. Or at least not entirely about him. See, I’m currently in mourning about the end of this era. Even though we get a little downtime when Scooter “rests,” it’s just not the same. Nap time often meant that Trillian or I could run off to do an errand without requiring the other parent to give up whatever work she was hoping to get done that day. It’s not that each of us can’t handle the boy on our own—but I’m sure you other parents understand the craving for an hour or so without being “on.”

Given how tired Trillian and I are once Scooter falls asleep, weekend naps had also become a time for two “together” activities: watching movies with no kiddie appeal and... well, you know. But Scooter at rest is not the same as Scooter asleep. We can hear him chattering, and he has a tendency to wander out of his room when he’s had enough.

It hit me as I was trying to fall asleep one night last week that we could be looking at a very long dry spell. No naps for Scooter. On our way to adding a baby with an unpredictable schedule. And I prefer not to think about what prolonged our inactivity after Scooter’s birth (two words: tearing and granulation).

I’d feel even sorrier for myself, but I barely have the energy now... for the intimacy or the pity.