Maybe It's in the DNA

I've never had a guest blogger before. You should know that when I typed blogger just then, I accidentally wrote blooger which made me think, instantly, of boogers. Why? Because I have a toddler son. Boogers are not only common around here, they're also cause for hysterical laughing episodes. I don't know what could possibly be so funny about little green snot balls but Garrett sure finds them uproarious. Anyway, so about the guest blogger. He was born in Texas, raised in Oregon and Minnesota, lived in California for ten years and now resides in Utah. For the past five years he has been married to the most delightful woman. I happen to really like her. He has a degree in Youth Ministry and an M.A. in Exegetical Theology. But the bottom line folks is that he has extremely bizarre sleep patterns. At some point I should take some time to explain them. But for now and without further ado, my husband has a few things to say and, well, I smell baby poop which is only problematic because he's asleep. Upstairs. So I need to go on an expedition to uncover the source of the smell.


OK, so Lori has long made fun of my sleeping peculiarities. Fair enough. After all I do have a few strange behaviors. All of these pre-date our relationship. To fully explain these idiosyncrasies would take an additional blog (or two or three).

One of these quirks is my inclination to sleep in odd places. For instance, I’ve occasionally taken naps on the floor of our walk-in closet. Why would anyone do this, particularly when there is a nice comfortable bed nearby? Here’s the thing. When I nap I prefer it to be a dark and quiet place where I can be undisturbed. If the bedroom is light and/or noisy then (in my slightly skewed way of viewing the world) the closet becomes a better napping alternative.

Like I said, this isn’t a new thing. Growing up I liked to sleep in tiny, dark and quiet places. Back in High School I would sometimes take naps under my day bed. It was darker, quieter, and (in my mind) comfortable. When my father found this out he decided I was nuts. He wondered how on earth I would come up with such a peculiar habit and likened it to sleeping in a cave or hole or coffin. I’m sure he chalked it up to exposure to lead paint, or consumption of mercury-laden tuna, or too much TV. Lo and behold it may have been hardwired into the DNA.

Today it was time for Garrett’s afternoon nap. Lori took Garrett to his room. With pacifier in mouth, Garrett grabbed his blanket and a stuffed toy and crawled UNDER his crib. He had to pull a rolling drawer out of his way in order to arrive at his dark and quiet napping place.

“Do you want to sleep under your crib?” Lori asked.

“Yeah.” Garrett replied.

“Don’t you want to sleep in your crib?”

“No.”

So there you have it. At least one of my sleeping peculiarities has seemingly been passed to my son. I’m sure Lori is worried. Me? Well it makes me feel all warm and happy inside. Sleep well little G.*

*Note: after about 20 minutes of failing to fall asleep, we did return him to his crib. He was not happy. Now it is not unusual for him to silently play for 30 minutes to an hour while fighting off Zzz’s, however, We weren’t 100% sure if he was seeking out his secret sleeping place or if he was in his fort to hide away from nap time.