Another long afternoon stretched before us. We’re in the middle of a nap transition with the twins, three-year olds, going from one nap to no nap. As far as I’m concerned, this is the worst transition of all, moving from some sleep to NO sleep. Zero daytime sleep. When I told my moms group that the twins were dropping their nap they drew in a collective gasp of horror as though I’d said they'd been in a terrible car accident instead. Some days they both nap, some days one of them naps, most days they don’t nap at all. The baby (*ahem* 16-month old) naps, but he’s usually awake by two o’clock. That afternoon stretch from two until five can feel like the absolute longest part of our day.
It makes me long for a different schedule or a different type of kid. Three-year olds who still nap, kids of any age who nap for longer than an absolute maximum of two hours at a time. I have friends whose toddlers nap until three or four o’clock. In the afternoon. Imagine! I’m convinced the afternoon would be a breeze, life would be so simple if I just had kids who napped for most of it. What do they have to complain about, anyway?
Afternoons are hard. So many hours to fill, so few people and activities available to fill it with. It often feels like it’s just us against the world, while everyone else is either napping or off at school.
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