Just Plain Tired

We are the proud parents of a two year old boy with boundless energy.  We love that he wants to run around and play and explore.  When he is trying something new his face lights up and he gets even more excited.  That expression and his happiness are what make our exhaustion tolerable.  

We are both employed and we are both full time parents - we never wanted to be parents who had a child and left him to be raised by someone else.  Not to say that we do not get some help and accept invitations for him to sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa's house, but those are few and far between (though much welcomed).  We want him to know who we are, what our values are, and to have many of his new experiences with us.  That definitely takes a toll on us - but again it is not something we would ever trade in.  Not to say we may not be having discussions with our split personality while chasing him through the museum or park or playground.  

I have discussed in many posts before that our son is on a rigid schedule (which he loves) and we know when our "down time" will be.  But it is never enough.  His 2 hour nap on a Saturday afternoon is enough to start a few things (while remaining quiet) but not complete them all.  His bed time is generally around 7:30 and he is down for the night - but that means we do not get to sit down and have our dinner until 8 which means we do not finish our work or household tasks until 10 or 11 on a good night.  Unfortunately he does not sleep in on weekends and he does not care what time mommy and daddy go to bed - when is ready to go at 5:30 or 6:00 in the morning, we better be as well.  He does not warm up, there is no slow start - he comes out of the gate at 100 mph and does not stop until he passes out for nap. 

When we see our friends and family they always remark how happy and energetic he is and the next breath usually follows with some comment on our appearance and how tired we look.  That is always the pick me up we look for.  Only parents with children in or near our age bracket can truly understand what a day looks like and how there is no such thing as a respite.  The only option is more caffeine.  

At the end of the day we are just plain tired.  But we are happy because our son is happy.