"No, Mom, I'm not.....

...tired!" were the words flowing insistently from The Beloved Boy's mouth one day shortly before Christmas. His level of rest was of great concern to me because we had an appointment at the local picture studio later that day. You know, the professional kind that makes all mothers, mothers-in-law, grandma's, grandmothers-in-law, etc. happy.... The ones that we don't do very often. I am more apt to be the type to grab our camera, have fun with the littles for a bit, then choose some great shots, print them off and frame them. Well, we won't discuss how long it had been since the littles had actually had their pictures "professionally" done, but let's just say that it had been a while.... Ok, a long while.

Outfits had been chosen, tears had been shed, I had been questioned on why a child can't wear their favorite jeans, regardless of the holes or the stains, or why not this shirt?! Why do I really need to match her?!? *Sigh.* "BECAUSE! I SAID SO!!"

Children were nestled in their beds at a reasonable hour, though not necessarily sleeping, mind you.... And visions of black eyes, missing teeth, disastrous hair and other picture-day catastrophes danced in my head. Finally, the house was quiet and all were asleep. We hoped.

When I woke up, I tiptoed out to the living room and was greeted by a big surprise! A surprise about the size and shape of an eleven year old boy informing said surprised mommy that he had been up since 4:00 am. WHAT?!?! WHY?! "I don't know, I just couldn't sleep. Don't worry mom, I'm not tired." Right. If he wasn't tired, that very pale face and raccoon eye syndrome was REALLY confusing me.

"That's nice, dear Boy, you ARE taking a nap this morning."

"But, mom-"

"No buts, Buddy... There is no way on God's green earth that you are NOT taking a nap!"

"But, mom, I-"

"Don't care. You. Are. Taking. A. Nap."

"But, mom! I can't sleep during the day!"

"Try."

"But, mom-"

"Try. Now. End. Of. Discussion." And I walked out of the room. About one minute later, I returned to find this:



Nope, not tired at all. I can't imagine what I had been thinking, insisting that he take a nap. I left the room (after snapping the above picture, of course) and came back a little later to find this:



Looks like he had been tired to me! Then, I glanced at his sleeping form a little closer. On that pale cheek was a long, bright red scratch!! *sigh* How much of a nap would it take to make THAT disappear?! I think this is why we don't get them "professionally" done.