Super Sleeper

I always hoped my children would be like those kids that fall asleep in the car at the end of a long day, their parents gently carrying them to bed only to wake up the next morning wondering what the heck happened.

Come college, they'll usually discover that tequila happened.

Cael has never been one of those kids, however.  He has always required a serious parental intervention to encourage sleep; in a dark room with no toys, no books and nothing of interest whatsoever.

But since Halloween, two things have changed in my house-- two things that I thought were unrelated but I am now beginning to think may have a link.  Since Halloween, Cael has been wearing his Iron Man costume a little bit every day.  Also, Cael has taken an unsolicited nap every day.

The first time he conked out in my bed, I thought it may have been a residual effect from the round of antibiotics he was finishing.  I hadn't even considered the possibility that he was physically and mentally exhausted from throwing punches at pillows, blankets, the wall, the furniture, his brother, the dog, my rear end, his coat, his own legs, the floor and any other surface that didn't retreat when he would approach.  His fatigue couldn't be from that.  No way.

But as the days continue to pass, we are developing more of a love-hate relationship with that costume.  When he wears it, he mimics the violent behavior of superheroes (mainly because I don't let him watch the shows and he has been left to guess how they would fight crime).  But when he wears it, he is also getting a great deal of additional exercise and rest.

Clearly I can't let him continue to beat on his friends and family, so I think Iron Man will soon be put to rest along with Cael's new-found interest in napping.  But that conversation will be an ugly one, so I'm already trying to compose an argument that won't result in a right hook to the eye.  Maybe something like, "Iron Man is only visible during Daylight Saving Time" or "Iron Man has a lot of seasonal anxieties and will be available again after the stressful holiday season".  Think he'll buy it?

Or maybe Captain America's secret weapon is a vial of Melatonin...