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kyburgI'll be blunt. Yesterday sucked so hard, we all gained a few pounds by gravity. Seriously.
Then the day ended. Night began - and everything got a whole lot better. (At least for me. You guys?)
My kid took his nap at daycare. Small potatoes, maybe. But it was an immediate difference on the arrival home, getting up this morning - everything. You just don't function well on no sleep - and for a wee man of four years, getting those two hours in the afternoon is just critical. He may not think so - but with the transition load on him right now, the emotional fragility just ramps up enough to catch in my throat when he doesn't sleep. And he doesn't sleep because he's worried. Maybe even a little scared. So yeah, I went to daycare at naptime yesterday and talked to the teachers...but didn't actually interact with kiddo. Helicopter Parent R Us, mebbe. But he slept - and slept again last night more normally - and headed in this morning in a better place. Total win.
That Idiot from South Carolina (really, who's paying attention to names right now) has done something I'm sure he hadn't intended. His challenger for his seat in the next election is fund raising LIKE WHOA overnight. Even better - said worthy is an Iraq War veteran to boot. YOU LIE has a whole 'nother connotation to those guys, lemme tellya. And people who really weren't all that interested in party unity? Uh, right. They're plenty interested Right Now, baby.
If you have a healthy sense of gallows humor (and I do) - this is just popcorn and ticket selling time. AH-mazing.
Someone I found while being Cliff's caregiver was Jennifer Louden - a self-care maven. For me, some times she gets too focused on the inner life for my comfort level - but she's on Twitter, and this morning, found some gold I think everyone needs - This is where you save me - ...there are these moments when we are revealed. There are these moments where our face powder and our deodorant and our hip red glasses and our clean counters and our eating salad one bite at a time all go flying out the window.
What I really want to say is that when people break, it happens by surprise.
Go take a look.
For me, candy corn is in my immediate future (like right after I hit the post button) - so it's all good here. Giddy good. I'm enjoying it, believe me.
Then the day ended. Night began - and everything got a whole lot better. (At least for me. You guys?)
My kid took his nap at daycare. Small potatoes, maybe. But it was an immediate difference on the arrival home, getting up this morning - everything. You just don't function well on no sleep - and for a wee man of four years, getting those two hours in the afternoon is just critical. He may not think so - but with the transition load on him right now, the emotional fragility just ramps up enough to catch in my throat when he doesn't sleep. And he doesn't sleep because he's worried. Maybe even a little scared. So yeah, I went to daycare at naptime yesterday and talked to the teachers...but didn't actually interact with kiddo. Helicopter Parent R Us, mebbe. But he slept - and slept again last night more normally - and headed in this morning in a better place. Total win.
That Idiot from South Carolina (really, who's paying attention to names right now) has done something I'm sure he hadn't intended. His challenger for his seat in the next election is fund raising LIKE WHOA overnight. Even better - said worthy is an Iraq War veteran to boot. YOU LIE has a whole 'nother connotation to those guys, lemme tellya. And people who really weren't all that interested in party unity? Uh, right. They're plenty interested Right Now, baby.
If you have a healthy sense of gallows humor (and I do) - this is just popcorn and ticket selling time. AH-mazing.
Someone I found while being Cliff's caregiver was Jennifer Louden - a self-care maven. For me, some times she gets too focused on the inner life for my comfort level - but she's on Twitter, and this morning, found some gold I think everyone needs - This is where you save me - ...there are these moments when we are revealed. There are these moments where our face powder and our deodorant and our hip red glasses and our clean counters and our eating salad one bite at a time all go flying out the window.
What I really want to say is that when people break, it happens by surprise.
Go take a look.
For me, candy corn is in my immediate future (like right after I hit the post button) - so it's all good here. Giddy good. I'm enjoying it, believe me.
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no subject
Date: 2009-09-10 06:52 pm (UTC)I wish he still took naps sometimes :(
no subject
Date: 2009-09-10 09:06 pm (UTC)To me, given the fact that he slept when you were in the room, the culprit may very well be that the room is unfamiliar and he fears he won't know where he is when he wakes up. Whether it's temporary or he's just not very adaptable to changes like a new classroom is something you'll only figure out with time and practice (as well as being able to know exactly what to do about by having years of experience with it).
If the teachers allow, try a transition object, something that feels and smells like home, that he can have with him when he goes down for his nap. It'll be like a little tangible reminder that everything is going to be okay. If the transitional object (more often a doll or stuffed animal, but really it just needs to be something a kid can clutch to sleep) also becomes part of a bedtime ritual, that may also help with waking up at night and demanding to see you. He may make the connection that as long as the object is still in his hands, then mom and dad are also still where they are supposed to be. I never had problems with naps at school, but at home I needed to clutch my green stuffed bear before I could go to sleep, and this went on until I was about 7 (after I was able to go to sleep without it, my mom tossed the old worn out bear away: biiiig mistake, I cried for days). Some kids need a sensory reminder that they are safe while they sleep long after other children may grow out of that ritual, while some kids may never need one (For the record, I was a very anxious kid, and my parents could never put my finger on what I was anxious about. At least you have the advantage of being clued in as to what his fears might be). I know that most preschool teachers are into making sure a kid learns to self soothe without the aid of a transitional object, but there is no specific age where that should be true, and a good case can be made for Xander that he just needs it for now, and that's that.
An alternative to that is to know the classroom ritual for naps (being there and seeing it happen yesterday will definitely help you there) and simulate it at home on weekends too. That way, it will be more familiar and comforting at school.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-11 04:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-11 05:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-11 06:44 pm (UTC)My daughter has a temperamental streak; rarely shows up with me, because she knows that it doesn't move me much - listening to Jim Fay helped, but basically, my folks had very little patience where kids were concerned, and I knew that random explosions were beyond a bad idea - so I never got in the habit of it. Ommmmmm.........
I don't tolerate direct disrespect, but I rarely blow up. I have to be seriously bashed to lose it. So Mere blows up on her Mom, who is far more 'oh, dear, let's placate the child' and will react to the explosion.
On the other hand, I know that hungry and tired will get either Mere or my wife grouchy, so I try to head that one off in advance. There's easier things to deal with in life, most involving axe murderers, than my nuclear family in a pissing match.