Naptime

I gave up naps when I was one and a half. According to my mother, I just stopped taking them, and she didn’t press the issue.

I vividly remember nap-time in kindergarten. We were supposed to rest on a hard mat on a hard floor in a sunny room and fall asleep. Each day I dutifully stayed on the mat with my eyes wide open and my mind telling me that time spent at the easel and paints would be much more fun.

When I met my husband, my opinion on naps changed. Here was a man who loved a quick nap. What’s more, he could sleep anyplace, anytime and almost anywhere. (His experiment at napping in the shower did not work.) Best of all, he would wake up refreshed. The value of being able to recharge at will was not lost on me.

The cats, who have elevated napping to an art form, also have added to my appreciation of a quick snooze. Their pattern seems to be a pre-breakfast nap, followed by a wee rest, a before lunch doze, an early afternoon quiet time and a four o’clock siesta. Then it’s dinner, a brief crazytime, and the before bed catnap. Felines are hard wired by Ms. Nature to sleep 2/3 of each day.

I, however, was not wired with a nap-time circuit. As desirable and therapeutic as a quick nap often would be, I am biologically incapable of taking one. How handy it would be to fall asleep in a plane, train or passenger side of the car. Alas, motion has a stimulating, not a soporific, effect on me.

My favorite commentary on napping is found in the delightful children’s book The Napping House by Audrey Woods. No child is necessary to enjoy this tale of naps gone awry.

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4 thoughts on “Naptime”

  1. Dear Mary–I also found kindergarten naps a huge waste of time. I never, ever slept. But I have become a champion napper . . . it’s where I get most of my ideas . . . there or in the shower. But I must admit, I’ve never tried combining the two! love, ekr

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  2. Mary, I just have to take a minute and tell you that I love your blog…I especially enjoyed this naptime one, ’cause I’m also able to sleep anywhere, anytime and love the renewed energy that it brings. How are you? We’ve been married a year already and I smile when I remember our wedding day…and that you were there to share it with us!!

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