You Snooze....you Win

I think one of my favorite “feelings” is when you crawl in bed, under the quilt, the air conditioner on high cool and knowing you can sleep as long or as little as you want.  Yep, there is nothing like a weekend nap.   I’m sure to some it seems like a waste of precious free time, time when you aren’t having to be at work or school or wherever and you can choose what you want to do.

For me, a nap is not just a waste of time.  Its when I do my best thinking.  I almost always wake up with a list of good ideas, or decisions that are clear because I’ve mulled them over in my mind while in a restful place. 

Sometimes, as I drift off to sleep, I am weighing the pros and cons of a particular decision.  Sometimes, as I drift off to sleep I am making a to do list in my mind of what I need or want to accomplish in the coming days. 

When I’m asleep, I don’t care that I am diabetic, that I need to lose weight.  In my sleep, I am unaware of that pain in my heart when I think of my mom being gone.  In fact, sometimes when I drift off to sleep, I purposefully place myself on the enclosed back porch of the house in Kingfisher where I had my most  of my alone time with my mom when I would visit.  Over coffee, while everyone else was still asleep, we would gaze out the back glass at the pasture and watch the cows and talk about life.  When it came to listening and always having the right words to say to soothe or motivate or help with a decision, my mom was 2^nd to none. 

I need only to conjure up whatever adventure I would like to be on as I drift to sleep, to transport myself there without leaving my cozy bed.   Sometimes I think about conversations I need to have with people who have offended me, or people I have offended and play them out in my dreams.    

I have always been able to nap at will. Give me 10 minutes, a blanket and a pillow and I will use 9 minutes and 30 seconds of it in deep sleep.  And the best part is I can do this and wake up feeling refreshed.  Not that I don’t prefer a longer nap.  A nap is a respite from the frenzy of life.

My former mother in law was a napper.  She had a routine that she rarely varied from.  From 1-2 or thereabouts every day she took a nap.  It was never shorter or longer than the one hour I don’t think.  And it didn’t matter what else was going on around her. Her nap time was sacred to her.  Even on vacation with them one time, we planned the day around her nap time.  We could be visiting and right in the middle of doing something and at the designated time, she would disappear for her nap.  I remember once, some people dropped by from out of town that just happened to be  in town on their way to another destination.  She visited with them for about 20 minutes and then excused herself because it was nap time.  My father in law and I continued to visit with them for the next hour and then she reappeared.  I remember wondering what they thought about that. At the time it seemed a little rude.  Now I look back and think “good for you!”  We should all be a little selfish when it comes to taking care of ourselves. 

When the boys were little we had  naptime.  It wasn’t an option.  They didn’t have to go to sleep, though I think they usually did, but they had to lay in bed for an hour even if they protested they weren’t tired, etc.  The purpose of their naptime was for me to have a break from being a mom.  Most of the time I would lay down as well and nap away some stress of the day.  Sometimes, I would make myself a cup of coffee and sit on the patio or deck and just relax for  awhile.  It was a needed break from being needed. 

Luckily, I married a man who  thinks naps are as important and re-invigorating as I do.  Though his naps are much shorter..30-45 minutes is enough for him…he has adapted to my napping ability.  He knows that when I say I’m gonna lay down for 30 minutes that it means an hour and if I say I’m just gonna rest a while, it may be 2-3 hours before I crawl out from under my  quilt  ready to roll.  He has learned that if I need a nap and don’t take it that I am not nearly as fun….you might even say I’m cranky…like a little child who misses their nap and is so tired that they become whiny and unbearable.   

After a particularly stressful day at work, I have found that it helps me to come home and take a short nap before dinner , maybe 30 minutes and awake with a whole new attitude, having worked out the stress in my sleep by thinking about something other than work when I drift off to slumberville.

Sometimes I even nap to make the time pass faster when I’m excited about being somewhere or doing something.  Car naps on long trips to Oklahoma can cut the drive time in half.  And for Joe, who likes to concentrate on the road when driving and finds it challenging when I’m awake and talking continually..lol… I think he would like me to nap the entire trip.  He claims he can’t nap when I’m driving because he’s too afraid to fall asleep.  So he stays awake to watch the road as I drive while I talk or sing along to the radio. 

On the few occasions that Puggy and Layla are visiting for the weekend, I find that naps are much different.  They are an exercise in futility. LOL  Layla is like me…Give her a bed and some covers and she’s out and doesn’t move(in fact you can’t move her without a protest) for at least an hour.  Puggy on the other hand is a reluctant napper.  He will circle your body at least 100 times before finding a spot to lay down, usually on top of your head.  He will stay in that position just long enough for you to drift into sleep then he’ll get up and repeat the procedure.  I have learned not to give him a bowl of food right before I want to nap because he is inclined to jump onto the bed with the food bowl in his mouth (he can do this without spilling a kernel) and then pick just the right moment (again, right as you are drifting off to sleep) to empty the bowl on top of you, and proceed to eat the dog food kernels of your covers one at a time.  Gotta love a Pug. !

And every once in a while there is the added bonus of napping at the same time Joe decides he wants to take a nap though that doesn’t happen that often. He gets up, even when he doesn’t have to at 7 or 7:30 and is ready for a short nap around 11 on the weekends.  I, on the other hand, rarely roll out of bed on the the weekend unless I have to before 10 or 10:30 so I’m just waking up as he’s taking a nap.  When it does happen, like on the days that I make myself get up and go walking and our nap need is in sync, there is no better feeling than  when you crawl in bed, under the quilt, the air conditioner on high cool, next to the one  you love, drift off to sleep holding hands, feeling loved and protected in snuggleville.

Yawn….I think I will go crank on the a/c in the bedroom, fill up the water in my cpap machine, close the blinds and “REST my eyes”…Sometimes when Joe says he’s gonna rest his eyes  I say Yea me too, they are about 2 hours worth of tired.
 

Night night.