The boys have all but grown out of their naps, much to our dismay. Nap time was such a happy time.

C stopped napping years ago and M has recently stopped, though he (or maybe we) still needs them.

Recently, however, both boys have mentioned falling asleep during “quiet time.”

“Quiet time?” we asked. Indeed, K (the nanny) has been enforcing a brief period of quiet time each day, especially now that the boys are out of school for the summer. M usually falls asleep, C rests.

Frankly, we were amazed. We can’t get them to sit still to save our lives (or theirs on some days…).

Today, I learned the secret. Magic words.

“How come you guys do quiet time for K, but not for us?” I asked.

C gave me a pitying look. “Because, daddy, you call it nap time. K calls it quiet time and that’s okay.”

Lesson learned.