Ahh...sleep. It's a funny thing

I'm so not a morning person. Yet this morning I found myself awaking at 6:45 for a hair appointment, of all things! When you are approaching 40, I guess you kinda start taking anything you can get at the salon to cover your gray! So I rolled out of bed and joined the half of the world I never knew existed...the folks who start life early, who hit Starbucks before the crowd, who drive with dew-kissed windows on a summer morning. My appointment was at 7:30. It was the first time I'd done anything so drastic for my roots. And, it was the last time. My sleep is much too important to me. But, my hair looks fabulous, if I do say so myself. Worth it? Not sure.
My daughter's sitter came today. She was off last week for the Fourth and vacation, so Millie was a bit out of sorts with her. (I have to clarify that I have a 14 year old girl come for 4 hours a day, twice a week so I can run errands or clean the house without Millie in tow.) Anyway, around 2:00 Millie really was getting tired and I really needed to clean my bathroom. The sitter was trying so hard to pull Millie from my leg to no avail. Why is it so hard for a 3 year old to succumb to sleep? That's all she needed. A nap was the perfect solution. Instead, she and the sitter were hold up on the stairs... waiting for me to complete my domestic task. I took my time.
A while later, when we were taking the sitter home, Millie fell asleep. This put a stop to her cries for her Night Night. (Her Night Night is a threadbare, dirty--even after multiple washings--small, soft blanket of sorts she carries around. She must have it at all times...especially if she is upset or tired.) One minute, she was screaming for the Night Night, the next out cold. Unfortunately, she didn't stay that way for long. Waking up as soon as I removed her from the car seat, she asked for a movie. I put one in hoping she'd drop off to sleep once more. No such luck. The rest of the day was spent trying to persuade her to let me take her to the pool (she wanted none of that) and listening to her pitch fits about anything and everything. So I ask you, why is it so hard for 3 year old to succumb to sleep? A nap is treasured gift at my age. Why is it fought with such resistance at hers?