No Nap For You

"Mommy. Mommy."

When I didn't respond she stretched my name out.

"Mom-meeeeeeee." I felt something poke my neck.

I cracked open one eye. Natalie was pressing the corner of her book at me. She grinned and went, "Hi," as though I hadn't been sleeping at all.

"Mommy is resting," I said, rubbing my neck. We were driving back from the beach. It's a three hour drive back to my parent's house so I thought I could get some shut eye after I handed Natalie the DVD player with Toy Story in it. This entertained her for all of ten minutes.

"Mommy, I'm thirsty," Natalie told me seriously. She smacked her lips for emphasis even though she had water at her side.

"It's there," I nodded my head at her sippy cup. I closed my eyes.

"Mommy?"

Oh for--watch Toy Story! This is what I wanted to say but I swallowed it back. We were riding in a van and I was sitting beside Natalie.

"Yes?" My eyes were open again.

"Mommy, I just...I just..." Natalie wiggled in her carseat. Clearly she didn't remember what she needed from me. "I need Rapunzel."

I dug through her backpack and produced her mini Rapunzel doll.

"There," I said. I leaned my head back. Natalie said nothing for a bit so I started to drift off, to the beautiful world of naptime, a world that I don't get to visit very often....

"Oh no! Buzz," Natalie said. I felt her tapping my arm. "Buzz is brokens. Buzz is brokens, Mommy, and I can't help him."

I sighed as I peered at the DVD player. Sure enough Buzz was on the ground and his arm was snapped off.

"He'll be fine. Rememeber it all ends happy, lalala," I assured her.

Silence again.

Off to napworld.

"Mommy, what are you doing?" Natalie asked. She hasn't napped since she was two so she probably had no idea. She suddenly gave naps up firmly telling me, "No more," one day and marching from her room.

Yes, I wanted to cry.

"I'm napping. Watch your DVD. That's quality entertainment right there," I promised.

"I want to watch Barbie," Natalie said.

I flipped through her book of DVDs and switched Toy Story out for a Barbie movie.

"Why is Barbie in a dress? What is Barbie doing?" Natalie said, frowning at the screen.

Ironically, Barbie was trying to nap.

"If I could just sleep," I practically begged. If my parents weren't up front I'd have told her to knock it off. But then she'd scream and I didn't think my parents wanted to hear it. I didn't want to hear it.

I shut my eyes. A few minutes later something landed in my lap. Mini Rapunzel.

"She wants to be with you," Natalie told me grandly as though I should be thankful.

Did I get a nap in the end?

No.

No, I did not.

Did I have to endure watching some annoying Barbie movie because Natalie claimed Barbie wanted me to watch her?

Yes.

Yes, I did.