The Nightly Fight

Bedtime. For most of us, it's simply a time we look forward to. It's the time when we can simply collapse on the bed and just sleep. Heck, we even want to kick back at work in the middle of the afternoon and just "rest our eyes" for a bit.

Matthew, he isn't one of those people. Nope. In fact, sleeping, napping, or just plain resting isn't really a part of his vocabulary - or desired daily routine for that matter.

Now, I know at 3-years-old we all probably fought napping. Matthew, however, doesn't just fight napping. He literally runs from it. At bedtime, he not only runs from going to bed, he will fight you to keep from going to bed. He simply doesn't have time for it. There are other, more important things, like playing with his tractors or playing ball to do.

So let me tell you just how a typical evening goes in the Biggs' household.

Supper. We all sit at the kitchen table and eat as a family. It may be something as simple as a sandwich or pizza, but we sit and eat as a family. Then, if it's not too late (as in 7:30 p.m.), Matthew gets to play a bit longer before heading off to get a bath. Then, the fight begins.

Matthew used to love taking a bath. He literally asked for one every night. Sometimes twice. Now, he's not interested. He will run through the house trying to avoid me and Kiley. He tries to "hide" under the sheets, in his playroom, or just run from us. We have to literally "trap" him and take him to the bathroom. Once in the bath, he's fine. He wants to play for a while in the bath. He'll sing, play with his bath toys, "make ice cream", or whatever.

Then, it's on to Round 2.

After bath time it's time for Matthew to wind down and go to bed. And then, the chase begins anew. Running through the house,dodging his mom and me, fighting bedtime. "I'm not sleepy!" "I'm not ready!" "I wanna call pawpaw!"

Ok, so we give in and let him call his grandparents. He doesn't talk to them. It's simply a distraction to buy more time. He takes off and runs through the house while we're on the phone.

Round 3.

We finally catch him (yes, he's that fast!) and head off to bed. By this time he's so tired and sleepy it'll usually be a matter of 5 minutes or less before he's asleep. That is, if he hasn't totally rejuvenated himself with energy. So one of us will lie down with him to get him to sleep.

That can bring Round 4.

Yep, fighting in the bed. "I need this Horsey!" His stuffed horse, obviously. "I need snuggy blankie!" (A little satin on one side, fuzzy on the other thing.) "Sing me a song!" "I want a kiss! Mommy! (or Daddy!)" "I want some milk!"

Yep, all that and sometimes more. But, after about five to 10 minutes of arguing, struggling, and whatever else it might take, he's out. Not just asleep, but snoring, teeth-grinding, hardcore sleep. No cover, no animals, in the middle of the bed sleep.

That is until the fight to wake him up in the morning begins. Unless it's the weekend - when he doesn't want to sleep late.