Nap Time

Nap Time

8.5" x 11"

pencil

A quiet afternoon, sun shining through the blinds, air conditioner humming as it cools the air. Soft music playing behind the drone of voices from an old movie, turned down low, on the tv set. Cats finding their places on the bed, ready for a nap, and resting up to play all night.

A loose fitting dress that barely touches the body.

No shoes to put added pressure on the feet.

Hair tumbling across a ruffled pillow.

Smooth sheets and a fluffy comforter to support and enfold the body.

No rush to go to school or work, to get a job done.

The eyes close as the head falls forward, then jerks up, only to fall again.

Everything can wait.

Sleep.

An afternoon of sleep.

Naptime.

One aloof cat stays out of reach, but her cold nose touches my feet. She does not like to be held or touched, but she stays close. This is her place at the foot of the bed.

A younger cat is also aloof and a bit wild. He doesn't want to be held or touched. He stays close, but just out of reach. He waits until he thinks I am asleep to curl up behind my knees.

The ruler of the house, insists on sharing my pillow. He likes to be held and loved. His place is at the head of the bed, near my shoulders.

They have their morning naps, their afternoon naps, their evening naps, and start out to sleep at bedtime. But, just wait until the wee morning hours. Then they are wide awake and into everything!

How good it is, to be able to take an afternoon nap! Like the cats, I'll be wide awake to play all night!

My great-grandfather lived to be 94. Part of his daily ritual was to go home from his store to have dinner at noon, followed by a 15 minute nap. He also had a daily walk.

And he ate well. Not diet food, but real food. A dozen eggs for breakfast, with ham, sausage, or bacon, oatmeal, biscuits, jelly, butter, coffee with real cream, the works! And he was a small framed man. Didn't do heavy work like plowing, as people like farmers did. He was a cobbler, then had a grocery store.

The nap sounds like a good idea, but, the trouble with that is that, once I finally get to sleep, I can't wake up so fast. If I wake up after just a short nap, I don't feel rested at all, but, instead, I'm jittery and tired.

I didn't like to take naps as a child, being forced to do it. Again, if I was going to sleep, I had to stay that way for a while. Listening to the hum of a fan, or the drone of airplanes, or going for a ride in a car, was a pretty sure way to get me to sleep.

But, when I could read to my children at nap time, you know who fell asleep first! Me!

Those of you who are out of school now, will probably put sleeping late or taking a nap to catch up on lost sleep, at the top of your list of things to do.

I hope that you get a good nap this weekend!

**

Please sign my Guest Book, if you haven't already.

You can receive updates when I have added to my blog by subscribing. Just add your e-mail address to the box in the sidebar, or click on the link to my group, Art-By-Cecelia

**

Thanks for reading and sharing! I do appreciate your interest, your support, and your comments.