ANYTHING But Night Night

My two year old son Sagan is now at that age where he will suddenly have a request when it is bedtime, presumably to delay the inevitable. Usually his requests fall into two categories.

Entertainment

• “One More Simpsons” (A The Simpsons episode)
• “More Ponies” (A My Little Pony Friendship is Magic episode)
• “More Song” (he wants Ryan or I to sing a song, which is more often than not from the They Might Be Giants album “Flood”)

Food

•  “Milk”
•  “Bubble juice” (grape juice watered down with Seltzer water)
•  “Nana” (banana)
•  “Grits” (Yup, he often asks for grits while laying in bed)

The other week, Sagan momentarily stumped me with a bedtime request.

“What?” I asked him.

He repeated the same mysterious word.

“Take your paci out and say it again.”

He followed my instructions, but it was no use. I still had no idea what he was trying to say. I could make out two syllables. The first started with a “B” and the second started with a “W”.

He repeated it a couple more times before I thought of a word that fit that criteria, but it seemed very unlikely.

“Bagworms?” I asked.

He got a big smile on his face and nodded. “Yes,” he said.

“You want to go out and collect bagworms?”

More nodding, followed by another “Yes.”

THIS is Better Than Going to Sleep (Photo by Michael J Curtis)

I was stunned. When you’re chasing after an active toddler while you have an infant in the MobyWrap, sometimes you have to think outside the box to find chores you can effectively accomplish. One thing I had found easy to do is to pluck bagworms off of infected trees. Although the activity kept Sagan’s attention, it never struck me as “fun” for him. I guess that goes to show how much Sagan does not want to go to bed. : ) (It also shows he knows his audience.)

He may have momentarily taken me offguard with his request, but in the end my answer to Sagan was the same.

“Uh… no… It’s night night.”