READY FOR A NAP?

    Are you sleepy? I know I am... because I always am! So what are you going to do about it? Are you going to chug another cup of coffee this afternoon? Are you going to use toothpicks to keep your eyes open? How about a good old-fashioned nap? Are you an adult who takes naps? I know I am! Or at least I try fairly often. I even have a decorative sign in my house that reads, “I just woke up, but I’m already planning my next nap!” 
    Now, maybe you’re thinking, Bridget, naps are for children. In general, that is the group who most likely naps the most, but there is a special group of adults whose perpetual mission it is to catch a nap whenever possible. We plan our lives around this ambition, yet if you’re like me, you often fail. 
    How did my nap love come about? I grew up in a napping family. I think this comes from my mom working night shifts at the hospital when we were kids. She would take naps during the day to catch up with her sleep. We lived in a very tiny house with thin walls, so we were threatened within an inch of our life when it came to the noise level during mom’s naps. If we were too loud, she would knock on the wall and that was the warning. If our noisiness persisted, what happened next was akin to a bear coming for you through the woods. A lot of stomping and a lot of growling. Maybe some claws. Anyway, I was trained early in life that naps are for grown-ups too.
    As my siblings and I aged, naps were a big part of road trips. From the moment each of us gained a driver’s license, we were expected to take a turn driving, not because Mom didn’t like to drive, but so she could get a nap in. We were warned many times, “You better take your nap right now because I’m taking one in a bit and you’re driving!” 
    I would say the epitome of my napping career took place during my undergraduate years of college at SDSU. For some reason, my loft college bunk bed provided the perfect haven for naps. I could really nap like a champ those days. I guess it was probably being young, relatively carefree and without many worries plus a combination of staying up way too late (mostly studying) that set the bed for wonderful naps.
    As I aged into full-blown adulthood, I still have tried to schedule regular naps. Now this doesn’t always work because the stress level in my life due to ‘adulting’ has increased exponentially, which often prevents carefree naps. But I sure spend a lot of time trying. 
    One of the stranger nap practices that I often try is napping at random places. This mostly involves parking my vehicle somewhere where I think is quiet and catching a 15-minute snooze. Let me tell you though, this is more complicated than you would imagine. Hmmm….I think I’ll just stop by this park under this shady tree and snooze. Oh shoot, screaming children are inexplicably headed to the park. How about this little traveled side road in town under this nice tree? Darn, the house across the street has a dog that wants to attack every leaf in sight and will not stop barking. 
    Again, I get this any time, any place nap habit from my mother. She’s a classic for pulling over at a random park, rest stop or parking lot and catching a 20-minute nap. This sometimes does raise curiosity from passersby though. One time my brother was randomly headed from Lake City to Millbank, saw a parked or perhaps stalled vehicle on an approach and pulled over to see if they were okay. Indeed, it was his own mother randomly catching a nap on a back road. 
    Similarly, I pulled into a nice country church a few years ago while I was driving across Iowa to catch a much-needed nap. I was just about to doze off when a concerned farmer pulled over to check on me. Yes, I’m fine. Just pregnant, exhausted and addicted to napping in weird places. Thanks anyway though. 
    The moral of the tale is that even if you’re over the age of eight, it is okay to nap. It’s a little harder to sleep with the weight of the world on our shoulders as adults, but I respect you giving it a good ole try! Now excuse me. I’ve got to work on my third nap of the day.