I started the bedtime process a little later than usual last night. Not really by that much time, only about fifteen minutes, but it was enough to throw the whole schedule off. I was hoping to adjust his time, thinking he might sleep better through the night, if he went to bed later. Instead what it did was to cause his behaviors to be multiplied. I took his tablet away earlier for behaviors, so that didn’t help the routine either. He always gets the five minute countdown for his tablet, and it was gone. He ran around the house screaming, trying to knock things off the wall, laughing, and anything he could to avoid going to sleep. The good news he slept all night, after the hours it took him to go to bed. Me, I woke up multiple times, feeling the space next to me, seeing if he got into bed with me. I woke up before my human alarm went off, or my clock. I had the kitchen light on, had been up for about thirty minutes, trying to make as little noise as possible; and then Owen woke, came to the kitchen, turned off the light, and said, “it’s time to go to sweep”. He ran to my bed, and since I didn’t follow, he yelled for me to come, “hey Owen hey Owen hey Owen get down hey Owen come here Owen”. He’s like a tiny ventriloquist, trying to mimic the tones, and voice of the person he learns the phrases from. He doesn’t understand to yell for me, even though he knows I’m mommy. I came to my room, tucking him in the covers. He repeated, “it’s time to go to sweep”. I walked back to the living room, and he stayed in the bedroom for about five minutes. And then he came running out, asking about school, and his teacher. I told him he would go soon; his school is on a two hour delay for snow. He ran back to my bed, but this time I had to lay down with him. Him wanting to stay in bed is a rarity. Him wanting to go back to bed, multiple times is unheard of; his tablet usually calls his name. I laid there with him for awhile, he never fell back asleep. He got up, asked for school again, and wanted his breakfast. So the day begins. These are the “Lord give me strength” moments. The correcting of behaviors are not a quick timeout, and he stops kinda thing; it takes time, and patience to overcome them. Today, I telling myself the same things I tell him; patience and count to ten. Life is not always a cookie cutter option. Embrace who you are; be bold, be beautiful be you. Smiles to all and donut daze!
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