As I may have mentioned before, the bedtime routine with N is very simple. I carry him to his bedroom, sing him a lullaby while he cuddles into my shoulder, and then he goes right to bed. It’s wonderful.

The lullaby I sing is a variation of “rock-a-bye baby”. I like it because it’s short, easy to sing, and I made it up. J sings “Stay Awake”, a song from Mary Poppins. That one is much prettier than mine, but it’s also about five times as long.

In any event, last night N was feeling a bit grumpy. Everything was “no” this and “no” that. I carried him into his room, turned off the light and started to sing.

“Rock-a-bye – “

“NO!”

He even grabbed my mouth, which he hasn’t done in a while. I waited for him to let go, and then tried a new tack.

“Stay Awake, Don’t – “

“NO!”

The hand went up to my mouth again. I blocked it, of course, but this was awkward. The one thing you don’t want at bedtime is an argument. I tried asking him “what shall we sing?”

“Catapillar!”

Okay, this one took me completely by surprise. I didn’t know he knew that word, and I don’t know any songs about catepillars. I’m not even sure how to spell it. I tried a quick whispered rendition of “The Itsy Bitsy Spider”, and it seemed to go over okay. He started to snuggle into my shoulder, so I switched back to my lullaby voice and tried singing “Rock-a-bye – “

“NO!”

Hmph. “Don’t you want me to sing?” I asked.

“No. Bed.”

He reached out for his bed, so I put him in it. He closed his eyes and went right to sleep.

Somewhere out there, Rodney Dangerfield is smiling down at me. No respect, I say. No respect.