Afternoon Assimilation

Ever since Koen was 16 months, when he transitioned to just one nap, the afternoon naptime has been like a sacred, almost untouchable part of my day.  Back then, I was working part time from home and it was essential to utilize the afternoon naptime to be as efficient as possible to get all of my home duties as well as my work duties accomplished.  With the addition of Tavin, afternoon naptime just increased in importance.  Thankfully with the decision to go for #3, the Lord provided us the ability for me to take a break from working and last October afternoon naptime became more of a me time.  A chance to catch up on housework, prepare family dinner, clean, prep for hostessing different dinner parties or small group, etc.  And especially being pregnant, that down time (or at least just me being as productive as possible without little ones around) was still so essential.  I used to wonder what on earth I would do without afternoon naptime.  What would become of me when Koen didn't nap?  He slowly gave up his nap over the summer months, but still spent over an hour on his own in his room.  Then with sharing his room with Tav starting at the beginning of this winter, he only spends about an hour of quiet time at some point in the afternoon.  That means, yes, this child is with me for most of the afternoon.  And you know what?  God is so good, it's been fine.  After some months of transition...figuring out how to keep him busy, helping him learn how to keep himself busy if I have responsibilities, etc. has taken a little while...but we are in a good spot and I'm fine.  I'm really fine (you probably weren't concerned about this, but I was).  At first I felt like a martyr and that I deserved a dozen roses or a night out after every afternoon laid out in this new fashion, but now that we are in a new groove, I'm just so thankful for this special time with Koen, the blessing of not having to cram as much professional work as possible into a few hours and that two of my kiddos still snooze through most of the afternoon.  I have to soak up this special time with Koen.  Next year he will be at school for a big chunk of the afternoon and I know I'll miss my little buddy around.  Today was a great example of the progress he and I have made in the last few months.  Koen and Tavin used up their DVD tickets this morning, so Koen didn't have any technology distractions left for the afternoon.  He spent about 45 minutes playing on his own while I cleaned up from lunch and did some prep for the evening.  Then he and I played a sight word game I made up a few weeks ago to help him practice his sight words (and it's an awesome excuse to make flashcards...it's been a long time since college when I last enjoyed that kind of fun).  Then I made him a snack and he did a puzzle while I did a 12 minute Pilates workout (Suzanne Bowen's Gorgeous Core's Classic Ab workout is no joke).  Then Koen and I enjoyed about a half hour of reading together (seriously, one of my favorite mom activities is reading to my boys).  After that Koen headed up for his quiet time.  I walked him up to a room to play Legos or listen to audio books or look at picture books or whatever he enjoys most for that day, then I stopped off at Tav's room to wake him up for a potty visit and to make sure he didn't nap too long (gotta make sure he's not too wired for the mutual lay down with Koen), then I got about 30 minutes to myself before I had to feed Penn.  And by God's grace, just those few minutes felt just as good as the hours I used to get to myself a few short months ago.  I can't believe we've made it, but yes, I now see...it is possible to have a child up in the afternoon.  I can do it (thank you for the strength to do so, Lord!) and it is actually a joy.  Amazing how things change, progress and develop.