Champion Napping

Today I had to be at work on campus from 8:30 to about 12:30. Then I came home and…took a nap. If you know me, you probably know my love of naps. I NEVER met a nap I didn’t like, and I never seem to have trouble taking a nap. I know people who say, “I can’t sleep during the day,” or “I try to sleep during the day but I can’t.” My dad says stuff like that all the time. (I obviously don't take after him in this regard.) I just don’t get that. I can’t remember the last time I went to take a nap and it took me more than seven minutes to fall asleep. I am a champion napper. Oh, and don't try to wake me up before I naturally wake up from my nap. This could be 1-2 hours, but waking up before I am meant to makes me irritable and useless the rest of the day.

 I used to try to hide this. I didn’t want people to think I was lazy, so I would do anything to make sure people didn’t know I loved to take naps. Now I have decided to own it. I think it’s because I have been successful enough in life that I know I’m not a lazy person, and I don’t care if people think that I am lazy. Obviously, I can’t take a nap everyday due to ridiculous obligations such as those that are related to my career, but I will say I take a nap ALMOST everyday in the summer. And most weekend days year-round.  And just about everyday during winter break.

I think I am a person who needs a lot of sleep. I have noticed that in our society this is not looked upon positively. We brag about how little sleep we get, just like we brag about how busy we are. I get annoyed with this. It seems like the person who works 16 hour days on 3 hours of sleep is the “winner,” but what do they really win? 

I hear a lot of conversations where people try to top each other with how busy they are. “You think you’re busy???? Well, let me tell you about MY week….” We tend to think we are more important if we are busier, but maybe it’s a sign we need to re-evaluate our priorities or use our time more efficiently. My thought is that these people either enjoy being busy (and should not complain) or should change their lives so they are less busy. Sometimes I want to tell people that I am not impressed with how busy they are. I would be impressed if they took more naps. 

The heat here continues. It was about 100 again today. It's cooled off some tonight, and looks like it could rain. I hope it does rain because I didn't bother to water my flowers today. For the first time in about a week, I didn't go for a run. I'd like to use the heat as an excuse, but really I just bailed. Maybe I did need a day off though. I'll go running tomorrow evening and probably feel better after not running today. I'm thinking about seeing if there are any local 5k or 10ks going on this weekend. I'm in the mood for a race, even if I'm not in the shape for it.