30 Days of Thanks: Day 20

Today I am thankful for...nap time.

As a working gal, we used to always threaten to use the sick room for a quick nap. Our theory being that a 15 minute cat nap would certainly make us more productive than slogging through media lists, press releases and running back and forth to the break room for coffee and Diet Cokes while trying to keep our eyes propped open with paper clips after a late night strategy session or early morning call time.

Of course the sick room didn't have a lock on it (don't get me started on how ridiculous it was that this was the same room they recommended nursing moms pump in...um, yeah, not going to happen when creepy IT guy could have just barged in at any moment), so we never tested the nap time theory.

When we moved to Atlanta and I was working from home, it was oh-so-tempting to take advantage of the fact that no one really knew what I was up to. But I was entirely too honest for my own good and always reported to the computer on time, worked through lunch most days and often worked much longer into the evening than I would have in an office just because my files were always there. Always begging to be finished. Always whispering to me when I walked past on weekends.

Then I got pregnant and that horrible first trimester had me nauseous and gagging and exhausted. I still got my work done, but I have to admit to snagging a quick nap around 3pm on a few days. And boy, did it make all the difference. I don't know how I would have worked in an actual office feeling like that. My hats off to all the women who do it every day. Those occasional, secret naps really got me threw those first 15 icky weeks.

Of course then baby arrives and you sleep whenever you can, whether that's at 10 at night, 10 in the morning, 5 in the afternoon. Whenever. And it was so easy. I might not even have felt tired, but if peanut was sleeping, so was I. It was like a switch.

Then he got on a schedule. An honest-to-goodness predictable schedule. Now, he takes a lovely 2 to 3 hour nap after lunch every day. This is my quiet time. I quickly take care of a few necessary tasks, but then the rest of the time is mine. Mine to read. Mine to blog. Mine to fool around on Facebook. Mine.

Today? Today, I nap (or will try to, anyway). Why? Because I was supposed to have jury duty today. Because I woke up at 4am terrified I'd sleep through the alarm which was set a good hour earlier than I normally get up and then proceeded to stare at the ceiling until 6:30. Because I managed to get down town, sweet talk my way out of jury duty (ah, the primary care giver exemption), and get back to the house by 9:30. Because I've been chasing my "I don't" two-year-old around since then and am now so beat I can barely type in a straight line.

So today I give into the sweet temptation of a nap. Today I cherish the loveliness of a nap. Today I am thankful that I have the opportunity to take advantage of such a delicious act as a nap.

Hmmmmm...sweet dreams!