We have noticed that we are dragging ourselves into the new decade. The last straw was going to the boys’ cross country race 3 weeks ago where they both ran slower than normal and were beaten by boys who they used to outrun. And it’s not just the boys, but the old people who live in this house are walking around with tense jaws, distracted brains, and sore bodies, so the new plan applies to all of us.
The plan: electronics off at 8:30, including mom and dad. Kids up to bed and lights out by 9. Meanwhile, mom and dad up to bed by 9 with no computers or phones for the next hour and lights out by 10. TV watching is done downstairs on the couch, none in the room. I know all of you with great sleep habits probably already do this, but Josh and I are marathon a TV show until we fall asleep kind of people, so this is a big shift for us.
A week in and I’m miraculously waking up before my alarm goes off at 6:30 and I don’t feel like I want to crawl back under a rock. I’m no chirpy early bird, but at least I don’t feel like giving everyone a death stare if they need something from me before school.
Since I’m a night owl I’ve been taking Good Day Chocolates and falling asleep in 30 minutes, not an hour or longer. Josh falls asleep in 90 seconds, same as always. I wonder where Camille gets her sleep struggles from? :whistles innocently:
The biggest grain of sand in this finely tuned machine is (of course) Camille. The boys are going to bed easily without complaining and asleep in minutes, but our Princess always has a complaint about some sort of Pea: she has a bug bite that itches, her leg bones hurt, her iPad is dead and she can not go to sleep without music, her tooth is loose and it’s bothering her, she’s hot, she’s cold, the dog won’t stay in her bed . . . bless. Her feelings are hurt, her brothers were harsh with her 3 hours ago . . . she has a never ending litany of distractions that pop up just as she gets in bed to go to sleep each night.
Josh is usually pretty good at soothing her complaints but he’s been in America for work this past week and I’m out of patience. Since I have been feeling better after getting more sleep at night, when she’s the one standing in between me and sleep this past week it’s not been pretty. Imagine girlie weeping at 10:45 at night (2 hours after sending her to bed) because her mom said she didn’t care if she went to sleep, she just had to stay in bed. In my mind, I’m offering freedom — you don’t have to sleep, you just have to be in bed with the lights out. In her mind, I’m a calloused and uncaring mother who doesn’t care about her feelings at all and nobody loves her. A blowup over 3 little words: I don’t care.
Thankfully Josh is home now and he gets to handle all of those feelings. I can’t even remember what last night’s tears were about, but they were flowing — oh yes. Math homework and estimating. Estimating is wrong on purpose and she does not like that. And it’s too hard.
On the flip side, or maybe it’s the same side as all these feelings are just a precursor to the many, many feelings we will enjoy over the next few years, she is riding her bike to school by herself, going to swim team without tears (after the first day, of course), and taking care of so much of her life by herself. She’s growing up fast, even if it doesn’t feel like it at bedtime.
This weekend we go to Oman and watch our runners in their final races of the season. I’m hoping our plan for excellence produces excellent results.
