Recognizing that you have a problem is the first step...

Today, in the car to and from various errands, we got to listen to The Tired Monologues, courtesy of Boy Wonder. Some of the monologues made sense; others, begun right after he woke up from dozing in his car seat, did not. My favorite: on the way home from grocery shopping, he said, "Sometimes, I get angry. I get angry when I am tired. And I get cranky when I am tired. I get CRANKY."

Truer words? Were never spoken. He certainly does get cranky when he is tired. And, since he is an energetic three-year-old who likes getting up at 5:19 and strongly dislikes napping, he is frequently tired. Sometimes, I forget to ask his daycare teacher if he napped during the day; however, I can probably stop asking entirely, as it soon becomes obvious on the drive home. If he is cheerful, eats his breadstick snack happily, and wants to go home and make pizza for dinner, he took a nap. If he starts out cheerful but moments later bursts into tears, says that he hates pizza, cries that he doesn't want dinner at all, shouts weepily "I DON'T LIKE PEOPLE!" (the latest tantrum-pronouncement, and I have no idea where he picked that one up), and then falls asleep, he has not napped.