Join Them

Once upon a time The Trifecta used to take magical naps.  The kind of naps blessed by unicorns and sprinkled with enchanted sleepy horn dust.  Then, the unicorn galloped away and naptime stopped. 

No more time for Mommy to eat lunch.  No more time to fold laundry while watching, “The Real Housewives of New York.”  Or, “Bridezillas.”  Or, “Law and Order.”  Or anything on the Lifetime Movie Network.  No more cruising EBAY for NWT Lilly Pulitzer or obsessively scrolling through my smocked auction pages on Facebook.  Mommy time died when the magical unicorn ran away. 

I tried all sorts of tricks.  I sat in a rocker and told them I would call Santa if they didn’t sleep.  Instead of sleeping they spent the whole time whispering, “You won’t have to call Santa on me, okay Mommy?”  Or, “Hey Mommy, look at me, I’m sleeping.”  Or my personal favorite, after not sleeping at all, “What a great sleep.  I’m wide awake now!”

I Pinterested and found a glorious idea for nap boxes filled with books and “quiet” toys. This resulted in The Trifecta leaping from bed to bed, fighting over books, piling the “quiet” toys on the floor and eventual mayhem. 

Then, one day, after my 26^th trip up the stairs and my 14^th personal depiction of the police banging on the door and threatening to cart away non-napping three year olds, I had an epiphany.  If you can’t beat them, join them.  I’m a fighter.  I don’t give up.  But this battle, this insane combat from 1:30-3:30 each day…The Trifecta had the upper hand. 

“Move over,” I ordered as I climbed into Mary Ellis’ bed.  “What are you doing, Mommy?” she asked. “I’m going to take a nap.  In your bed,” I answered.  Elizabeth and Hendley climbed into bed with us.  I had a toddler on each arm and one on my stomach.  Within 10 minutes, The Trifecta fell into sleep.

The mystic unicorn had returned. 

The system is not perfect.  It’s hot and sweaty when you have three bodies napping upon you.  There is drool involved…lots and lots of drool.  Most days two of the three fall asleep while I spend the rest of the time whisper-shouting, “Get still and quiet or you’ll wake your sisters!” 

And one time, I fell asleep.  And when I woke up there was not a Trifecta in the bed.  There was a duo.  The third had crept out of the bedroom and into the playroom.  There was a big mess in there.  But she was still alive so I didn’t worry about the mess so much.

Periodically, my limbs will endure such a smashing that my arms and legs will fall asleep.  Leaving only my face muscles active.

I still love naptime.  The snuggling.  The laughing.  The whispering.  The kisses.  I love hearing them breathe when they sleep. 

Welcome home, enchanted unicorn.