I am not much of a napper myself, never have been. After mom put me on my top bunk for nap time when I was five or six, she would crawl in with my sister, Nurse Cori, on the bottom bunk. This was to keep my sister from running out of the room screaming. She didn't like napping much either. Mom and Cori would eventually fall asleep. But not me. Oh no. I would stealthily creep down my three rung ladder, tip toe across the carpet, twist the doorknob with one quick twist, and hold it there while I ever so slowly opened the door a crack just big enough for me to slip through. You see, the Disney afternoon was on t.v. during nap time on channel 11. I can remember the satisfaction of punching those two 1's into our remote control and watching the giant, neon-yellow "11" appear in the bottom right corner of the screen. Victory was mine! And so were Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers, Tailspin, and Darkwing Duck. Chip and Dale was the best by far.
As an adult and mother, I now occasionally nap. However, the circumstances have to be just right. I have to be exhausted, my sweet baby Piper Joy has to be sleeping well enough to guarantee me at least half an hour, and I have to at least have started the laundry.
Exhaustion comes often enough. I think most adults experience this unfortunate feeling far too often. In my case, it comes from Piper Joy's wee hour escapades coupled with my beloved Tom's night owl habits. This is a killer combination. Sharing the late nights with Tom and heading to bed at midnight only to be woken up at 2 and 4:30 and who knows when else can make for a groggy feeling the next day to say the least.
Piper Joy allowing me at least a half hour for napping has only just started happening because she is only just now sleeping for more than forty-five minutes during a nap! She is ten months old this week. I am thrilled with her new napping habits. They cause me to wonder daily what to do with myself as her naps now extend to an hour and half, and sometimes beyond! This is what nap time is all about.
And oh the laundry... In a nutshell, life at a summer camp generates lots and lots of it.
I remember a book my mom used to read to us. We borrowed it from the library. It was called The Napping House. Each picture showed a darkened, bluish room with a large bed in it. As the book progressed, more and more members of the household trudged into the room and fell asleep, one on top of the other, the old lady, dog, cat and who knows what other pets, until the bed started to sag and the snores were a symphony. This was never my favorite book because I couldn't understand the appeal of all that napping. Since being married, I have learned a little bit about it.
Because, these guys can nap!
My beloved Tom and I have discussed this napping phenomenon. He will fall onto the couch face first and be asleep in two minutes while I must be tucked comfortably into a bed in a silent house with time to turn my brain off before I can even think about falling asleep. The interesting thing is, our roles switch at night. I fall asleep in thirty seconds and Tom takes hours to fall asleep. We have yet to develop a full fledged theory on why this is true, although I am sure some sleep expert has.
We are still waiting to see how Piper Joy fits into things as up until now she has only demonstrated a capacity to sleep poorly all the time. That is indeed changing, thankfully, and I am happy to report that I must end this post because my sweet baby Piper Joy is waking up from a, yes, glorious two hour nap. I must go and pick her up out of her crib and love her because that is my job. It is a good one.
Happy napping to all!
It is apparent, you have never understood the finer points of napping. Now I, on the other hand ...
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You're right! The ability to watch golf and "just see what happens" has always eluded me.
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