My Overtired Boy

I don’t know about you, but when I’m overtired I’m not that much fun to be around.  I exhibit the usual afflictions; slow thinking, irritability, impatience and emotional lability.    But THIRTEEN month olds - -do not.

When Toby is overtired (and its been happening a lot lately as we try to wean down to one nap a day) he gets to be pretty much the opposite. 

He gets HYPER - -his thoughts, actions and movements, although slightly less coordinated, get FASTER. And when I say faster I mean I-am-so-excited-to-go-to-the-other-side-of-the-table-that-I-am-running-at-top-speed-and-didn’t-see-that-book-on-the-floor-and-have-fallen-flat-on-my-face-but-WHO-CARES-because-while-I-was-down-there-I-found-a-CHEERIO-and-I-put-it-in-my-mouth-but-it-fell-out-because-DADA!!!!-I-missed-you-while-I-was-on-the-other-side-of-the-table-AHHHHHHH-maybe-if_scream-loud-enough-you’ll-chase-me-DAMN-that-book-is-still-there-HA!-there’s-DAD-again!!! (and so it continues)

And unlike the usual crankiness of mommy-overtired-ness, when Toby is nearing the end, EVERYTHING is funny.  Like, for example, if you’re walking or RUNNING around the house and your mom is on the computer working and she looks over at you and raises an eyebrow - -now THAT is funny.  Or, if you take your socks off and swirl them around your head as fast as you can while screaming nonsensically and one of them flies out of your hand and lands on the floor.  That is also (apparently) HILARIOUS.

Now, if but some magical stroke of fate, the two above things happen at the SAME TIME (like if your sock flies out of your hand just as your mom looks up from her computer and raises an eyebrow at you) then you’ve reached uber-hilarity and you might as well just drop everything and fall on your face.

Which brings up the issue of emotional lability.  Perhaps the only mutual characteristic I share with my son in overtiredness.  Because when you’re 13 months old and you’re faced with such sidesplitting comedy and you fall on your face as a result of it….it’s time to cry.

But when your parents then race to your rescue and scoop you up into their arms to escort you to a nice warm bath and get your tired body to bed- - you can rest comfortably in their arms and know that life is good.  And really, could there BE anything better than that? 

I must try to remember his energy the next time I’m working late on call.  As I drag myself in to see a patient in the middle of the night I’ll try to imagine how Toby would approach it - with his overtired energy and usually zest for life.  But maybe I’ll skip the part where I swirl my socks above my head.