Tuesday, July 15, 2008

The Necessity of Sleep- an ode to napping

There are dishes to be done, counters to be wiped, laundry to wash and fold.
There are flowers that should be watered and miles that should be run, but all that’s been put on hold.

For today we sleep. Yes today we rest. Everything else can wait.
Sometimes you just need to care for yourself and leave all that's left to fate.

The dishes will be there tomorrow. The flowers could possibly die.
The treadmill can’t run away by itself, but I could easily cry.

I’ve seen late hours of the night and heard the early bird sing, just a little too often these days.
But that babies smile and the twinkle in his eyes gives me joy in so many ways.

And so the crumbs will stay on the counter- one more day, the laundry won’t mind the wait.
And my body will rest and my mind will be calm and I know my nap will be great!


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After a week or more of waking to my babies cries several times during the night and then getting up and rolling him back over because he realized that he hates his stomach, I was exhausted. I had become so used getting enough sleep at night and being able to do my daily chores while the baby napped during the day, and it had been such a long time since I had taken a nap when he napped, that it hadn't even crossed my mind that I needed to make up for the hours of sleep I was now missing at night. And so the exhaustion set in, and I became crabby and tired and all the other things I don't like to be. I am sure Ken wondered who had tampered with his wife and turned her into the shrew that kept appearing each evening. But I think I have found a temporary fix for the problem, I can not force the baby to not roll over while he sleeps, and so until he gets used to his new skill and decides that it is OK to sleep on his tummy at night- like he does during the daytime naps.......
(? I don't know what the difference is- but daytime tummy sleep is fine, nighttime tummy sleep is bad ? see picture taken 20 minutes ago)


So, until I get my needed 7.5 hours of sleep at night, I will take naps during the day- this morning I got a 2.5 hour nap, it did wonders for my mental health, I am still not quite sure what day it is, but that is fine, after all that is what email and sticky note reminders from myself and my helpful husband are for. Oh, Yes, When I am sleepy, I tend to be slightly more poetic too. I hope you liked the poem.

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