The Politics of Napping
November 1, 2005 at 3:51 Most days, I need to take a nap just to make it through. And being an American, this fills me with shame. You can do anything in America, the land of opportunity, but don’t you dare sleep in the middle of the day!
Every time I kick back in a recliner or curl up on my cranberry-colored sofa, I’m wracked with guilt. A chorus of historical voices looks at me in dismay. The Puritans despise my flabby work ethic, the early colonists wonder about my sense of adventure, the frontier settlers see I lack a can-do spirit, the 20th century modernists cite me as an example of why America is falling behind, the post-modern workaholics shake their heads and list all the activities on their agendas that supplant sleep. As I hunker down in my gray sweatshirt and navy knit pants, I hear the collective voices of American capitalism sneering at me in disdain.
How vile! How slovenly! When I collapse on the sofa, I am not consuming a product or service. I should be trudging through stores, charging my purchases, eating lunch out, burning gas while stuck in traffic, and dreaming of a bigger car to haul my stuff in and a larger house to accommodate it all. And not only have I failed as a consumer, I’ve failed at producing anything of value. I’m personally responsible for slowing down the economy! I annoy all the hyperactive, slack-faced Americans who measure their worth in sleeplessness, cell phone activity, volume of e-mail, and hours spent multi-tasking.
Yes, I’ve let my country down. I’m an ambassador of lethargy and malaise. Let’s face it, there’s nothing more un-American than valuing silence and doing nothing or indulging in nature’s narcotic: sleep. So I keep my secret vice under cover, shall we say, as I pull a fleece throw up to my chin and draw the curtains during daylight hours. I listen to the clock tick on the mantel until everything fades to black. Ahhhh. Inner voices are silenced, my body is content, and I’ll wake up and deny it all happened as soon as I’m asked, “What did you do today?”
©2005 by Veronica McCabe Deschambault. All rights reserved.
November 1, 2005
Reader Comments (2)
When I was pregnant with Matt & Stephen, I was working for a chiropractor, and because our office hours were 8-6, we got to take a full hour and a half for lunch. I quickly developed a system: The first half hour I would spend eating a well-balanced and significant lunch, and the remaining hour I spent on one of the therapy tables, blissfully and unapologetically napping. Of course, my body was still working hard growing babies, even when I was sleeping. Before my stomach got too big, and I could still lay on my back safely (without cutting off crucial blood supply to the babies), I would lay on the Spinalator and sleep. For anyone unfamiliar with the Spinalator, it is basically a table that has rollers inside that move up and down your spine. The pressure and range are customizable, and you can set a timer. So I set that puppy on full spine, medium pressure, and set the timer for an hour. Aaahhhhh...
But these days, I'm guilty of not napping. Every morning I sit up in bed and think-- today's not so busy; I can take a nap later. Then of course later never comes. I applaud anyone who is able to release their expectations for themselves long enough to give their body a much-needed rest. Going to bed early is about the best I can do at this stage.
So nap a couple extra minutes for me. Have a good dream or two. :)
These days, Siesta lasts a solid hour, whether I'm pregnant or not. The kids find quiet things to do-- sometimes they even sleep. I might sleep too, or I might indulge in some good conversation with God or read some parenting books.
And whether it's the books or the rest, I'm a much nicer mommy when Siesta is done.