Escape from a nap

If you have (or ever have had or ever have been) the kid who hates naps, then you will understand this little exchange I had with our youngest.

The other day I decided to surprise Joel and pick him up early from preschool. I was trying to get there just before they pulled out the cots, so that I wouldn't disturb the other children. As it turns out, I got there right after everyone had been settled down on their little beds, but were not yet asleep. When the teachers told Joel that I was there to pick him up, he jumped up from his bed and ran over to me. As he was running to me, with four -year-old, uncontainable joy and awe at his good fortune, he loudly exclaimed, "Mommy, I LUHV You!"