Rip Van Winkle - Crazy Old Man or Just a Worn Out Parent?

As I got up today, uttering once again how tired I am, it occured to me that I could've slept for twenty years. Well, I could've slept that long if I hadn't had a sobbing child enter my bedroom at 3 a.m. looking for his beloved 'Bean' which led us on a furiuos 'Bean' search where we found the tattered, chewed upon dolphin safely tucked in Sasha's bed. And if I hadn't had a 70 pound boxer male try to lay on me as part of his 'is Mom alive today' ritual where he puts his whole body on top of me and then gives me little smoochies until I have to open my eyes ... sort of like the boxer version of sleeping beauty. Yes, I could've slept for a twenty years minus these little distractions. Even the cuddled up, 800 degrees of radiant boxer heat that is constantly emitted from Snickers Platt wouldn't have driven me from bed this morning. And, it's the kind of dreary, cold day that is perfect sleeping weather. I'm longing for my pillow as I type this.

This led me to wonder if perhaps Rip Van Winkle wasn't just a guy with some significant sleep challenges but perhaps he was a parent of a two year old who was suffering from sleep deprivation and finally was without distractions. Perhaps Rip had finally gotten the chance to have the magical, mythical thing (like the unicorn or the griffin) called a nap and was able to sleep a long time. We always talk about the nap in our home, in hushed, reverent tones, but we never actually get to take a nap.

I have much to post and will do my best to get everything updated before the end of next week. Have a great rest of your week!