On Napping

In case you hadn't already picked up on the fact-- or perhaps you thought I was exaggerating?-- I am going to admit right here and now that I am an avid napper.  And I'm not ashamed of that fact.

I never EVER took naps when I was a kid.  The very idea of taking a nap seemed preposterous.  It wasn't until I hit college that they even became appealing.  And then I might occasionally indulge.  After my mission, I began enjoying a Sunday afternoon nap (mostly because I couldn't that whole mission, except on P-day...).

But it was once I became pregnant that I REALLY embraced the napping lifestyle.  And I don't think I've ever gone back.  I have high hopes that one day all my kids will sleep through the night at the same time and I can get a straight eight hours of sleep.  And if that happy day ever arrives, perhaps I'll be able to get by without napping.  But I don't see that happening any time soon.  Or if it does, I'll probably be pregnant and first-trimester-tired by then, knowing how I seem to manage my life.  My friend with older kids assures me that by the time they're all sleeping well, they'll probably be teenagers and I'll be so stressed out by them that I still won't be able to sleep.  (I find this very worrisome because her kids are all really good kids!  How much less will I sleep if one of mine decides to be a rebel???)

Occasionally I worry that someone will think I'm lazy.  But the fact is that between all the little ones vying for my attention and the several interruptions to my sleep each night, I am frequently exhausted.  And when I'm exhausted I am an unreasonable nightmare to deal with.  I will feel angry and put-upon over the stupidest things when I get too tired.  But I can usually handle them, and maybe even see the humor in them, when I've had a nap.  So the way I see it, napping is just a way to make me a better mother, wife, and person in general.  Some people pray and read their scriptures to be better people.  (I do that, too, actually.)  But in the middle of the afternoon, nothing helps me be a better person like a quick nap.

The funny thing was one time when I was pregnant with Bentley.  I'd lain down, and Craig was on the bed next to me reading.  I slept for twenty minutes, woke up, mumbled, "I just need to get the other side..."  Rolled over, and proceeded to sleep for another twenty minutes.

Craig seemed to think that was hilarious, but it made perfect sense to me.  In fact, I think it was years later that it occurred to me that the notion that I would need to nap on "both sides" was preposterous.  What am I, a pancake that needs flipping?  There's no logic there at all.

But still, even now, I sometimes find myself waking just enough to roll over and get the other side.  And it feels great.  Even if it's ridiculous!