Sunday Epiphanies- The Naptime Club

Sunday Epiphanies

The Naptime Club

Last week, our church schedule changed from 9am- noon, to 11am-2pm. 

I know that a lot of people like this schedule because then they can sleep in. And NO ONE likes the 1pm-4pm schedule, so it's better than that. 

Me, though, I prefer 9:00. See, with four kids, we don't sleep past, oh, 6:30 anyway. We're already up, and since I have to have all the kids dressed and ready and out the door by 8:15 every morning throughout the week anyway, having them dressed and ready and out the door to be at church by 9:00 is no big thang. (yes. I misspelled that on purpose.) 

11-2 SUCKS. Not only is Sacrament meeting right over LUNCH TIME, the remainder of the meeting is right over NAP TIME. It's the most horrible kind of boring and the most incredibly hard kind of day to try to deal with any kid who is hungry and tired, but it's 10 times worse when you have a BABY who needs to eat and nap. 

The lunch thing is a minor issue. We just make a quick quesodilla with cheese and tortillas, cut them into small bits and let the baby eat them when we get to Sacrament meeting. But the nap thing is something else all together. 

At about 11:30 today, I found myself pacing around the lobby with my baby on my shoulder, doing the Maggie Simpson all over his pacifier. One by one, every mom with a baby near mine in age slipped out of sacrament meeting and into the lobby where we could pace and rock until our little ones drifted off to sleep. 

Tired myself, I thought how I just wanted to go home. How easy it would be to pick up all the kids and just go home for nap time. 

But you see, while it's easy, it's not alright. I have talked to countless parents who say it's too difficult to get their children to sit quietly in church (whatever religion it may be) and to behave. That they'll keep them home while they are little, and go later in life. 

Yes, it's difficult. It is hard to get a wiggly kid to sit still for an hour or more. Heck, it's hard for ME to sit still that long and I'm an adult- and a more mature adult than my husband, who can't sit still longer than my 5 year old. But, this is where I need to be. I want to teach my children from the time they are very young, that that they need to be at church. NOT just when it's convenient, or when they feel like it. Not just when it's easy, or when they're well rested or well fed. Church is important EVERY week. And so are the things we learn there. If I only go when I'm not tired, or when I'm not hungry, or when I feel like being there, then that is what they will learn. 

Important things require sacrifice. And sometimes, it's a sacrifice to be there. 

So, I plan to spend a lot of time over the next year in the lobby of my church, rocking my sweet baby to sleep. 

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"SHHHHHH!!!! OR YOU'LL WAKE THE BABY!!!"

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the three of them about the age that Lilly and Mahone gave up naps.

Scarlet- about 7 months here.

Lilly- Age 3

Mahone, Age 2.

Lilly and Mahone both stopped having naps the summer before last. Lilly was 3 1/2 and Mahone was 2. Lilly would have continued them, but Mahone wouldn't stand for one, and Lilly declared it "unfair" to make her nap without him. Scarlet, being only 5-6 months or so continued to have them.

Now-a-days, she's still sleeping at mid day. The exact times vary, but generally her nap lasts from around 12:00pm to 4:00 pm.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Scarlet has her nap at my mother's house while Lilly and Mahone attend a preschool taught by my mom. She LOVES this, and loves her bed there, which, she thinks, is just for her. It makes her feel special. I love these days too because 1. I get to nap, blog or otherwise goof off online for 3 whole hours while my children are all occupied. 2. There is no one for me to have to continually "SHUSH!" while she sleeps!

*****

The other day, Lilly and Mahone were watching their regular afternoon cartoons. I was messing around on Blog Frog, and my son dropped a toy. It made a noise, but not a really loud one. As my Scarlet was napping, and this is well known in our house as quiet time, I went to whisper a sharp and probably mean sounding "SHHHHH!" - but my son beat me to it. Without looking up, he yanked up his hot wheels car and said quickly "SHHH!"

So I had to stop and think. And laugh, of course.

"Shhh" is a reflex in our house. Just like "I love you", or "knock it off", or "I don't THINK so" or "don't hit your sister".

It doesn't really matter where we are. It can be church, the store, the park, my back yard, the car- whenever one of my children raises their voice, I find myself whispering "shhh." (Not always so harsh as it is during Scarlet's nap.) Usually, my kids don't even really notice that I say it. Still, I have to remind myself that they're kids, and shouldn't always have to be quiet.

As for now, though, until I have a house full of kids who DON'T need naps, I'm fine with "SHHHH!" being sort of an extra appendage. It's like a proverbial arm i can use to reach out and smack my noisy kid upside the head without causing either physical, or emotional damage- well, at least that one is minimal.