from 180 minutes to zero

I might be totally mistaken, it might be just a phase, but we appear to be... sigh... done with naps.

dun dun dun.

And, I won't sugar coat it: moving onto (yet to be mastered) Quiet Time is a big change in our house. Not long ago, Jacky was the king, the dominator of solid 3-hour naps. Oh the to-do list warfare I used to wage during those hours of silence and not being needed. I think his nap length was pretty unusual for an almost-3, but my, how I came to count on it anyway. I would tuck that boy in, close the door, and tip-toe off to feats of cooking, cleaning, gardening (thank you long-range baby monitor), or maybe a thought-out bit of blogging.

All this whining aside, I'm starting to catch glimpses of a silvery lining. I'll start with the obvious.

Like, 1) he's growing up. Duh. It's awesome. There's a fascinating big boy emerging out of little-ness, and dropping the nap is all bout growing. I embrace it.

2) once the novelty of Big Boy Quiet Time (it's all about marketing) wears off, he might embrace the "quiet" part a bit and conk the heck out.

3) finally, more of a challenge, but so worth it, I imagine: I'm going to have to do some of the stuff I'd previously bang out during naps while he's up. Like, I'm kinda amazed but I managed to bust out the sewing machine and we sewed a new blanket for his bed, kinda together-like. He helped, he learned, no one lost it or got a finger zig-zagged. We cook small things together and he can keep a little busy while I tackle a small task.... But I hope where we're headed is that my role as a keeper of a home can emerge out of the shadows of nap time, and be a familiar sight for Jacky. I'd like him to see me making, doing more. I feel like that's a healthy example. And, frankly it's a good challenge for me.