Scheduled Chaos

Robbie has always been a pretty reliable guy, especially since he started daycare at nine weeks old. Within a week of starting, he took a bottle at 9:00 and 1:30 and slept from 10:00 to 1:00. And he translated this schedule to the weekends, much to the delight of Justin and myself. He goes to sleep at 6:30 every night and politely entertains himself until between 6:30 and 7:00 every morning. I rely on this schedule. I live for this schedule. It defines my day and gives me time to recharge.

Today, for the first time I can remember, Robert Gaetano Manna refused to take his nap, and my entire day was turned upside down. Robbie went down at the usual time and cried for an hour. Since we had a lunch/play date scheduled for early afternoon, I decided it wasn't worth the effort to keep trying to get him down. So, at 11:00, our scheduled chaos began.

Robbie (and I) survived lunch out with Robbie's best friend Pete and his dad without incident. Robbie was even fun at the playground, although he was a little fussier than normal on the swings. We played on the jungle gym and tore up grass, throwing it in the air. Robbie held himself together with more class and style than I would have expected. I, however, was another story.

Robbie finally went down for a nap around 3:00, and I was spent. It was all I could do to make it up the stairs to put the cherub down in his crib, where he cried for about ten minutes before finally crashing. I had no idea how much I relished those three hours every day when he naps. It's my "me" time. The time that I should use to clean the house (and usually do just a little) and write overdue thank you notes for end-of-the-year student gifts and Robbie's birthday. In all reality, it's the time I use to catch up on shows on my DVR and, if I'm really lucky, take a little nap. It's the time I waste on Facebook, catching up with friends who live too far away to see for lunch.

Tomorrow's a daycare day, and, if I know Zhining, Robbie will be back on schedule by 10:00 tomorrow morning. And, as I lay on the couch Thursday afternoon, I'll be grateful for the period of calm during our day of scheduled chaos.