What was that noise?

My  11-year old son is a sleepwalker but it wasn’t like he came with a tag that said CAUTION: I SLEEPWALK --  MONITOR ME ACCORDINGLY. The discovery process was nerve wracking. When he was five, I heard him unlocking the front door to leave the apartment around midnight. My least favorite experience is waking up in the middle of the night with him STARING at me, which is just unbelievably creepy. (And how long have you been standing there buddy?)

A few months back, I woke up around 3 am to the sound of someone stomping upstairs, luckily it was him, even though I still have no idea what he was doing down there.  [Side note:  I’ve always felt that flight or fight was too limiting – I’d add an option for fright – just standing there doing nothing seems like a fine option to me.]

His sleepwalking escapades include acts of belligerence, vows of love, demands to brush his teeth at 3 am, and, at least once, a nude appearance in the kitchen.  He’s a good kid but he needs to get his act together.

Noctambulist

A person who walks while sleeping

Latin noct-, nox night + -ambulist (as in somnambulist) — more at night First Known Use: circa 1731