Why is it that every time I take a nap, I feel guilty? I know why. It's because in this country we are supposed to be busy every minute of the day. After all, an idle mind is the devil's workshop. And the busy bird catches the worm. And if I'm not mistaken, somewhere in the bible, laziness is listed as a sin. Right next to not bathing. And let me just put it out there. As a Black American, always conscious of the fact that to much of the world I am a walking stereotype, "shiftless and lazy" are two words I never want to embody.
And don't get me wrong, I don't walk around always forcing myself to do more. I'm just naturally energetic. I'm always doing a million things at the same time, because I like to and want to. But there are moments I might catch myself with free time and my immediate impulse is to find something 'worthwhile' to fill the void. And then I met, El Esposo. Go figure, the love of my life is from a country where the siesta was invented and is still observed.
Two words, people. Culture clash.
Common fight in our house. He says after lunch, "let's take a nap." I roll my eyes and start to list the gazillion, million, trillion things that need to get done before we take time for a nap in the middle of the day. Usually, I win. And we do those gazillion things. And we collapse at the end of the day.
But today, maybe because it's the third consecutive snow day we've had and the whole world seems to be taking a siesta, I agreed to a little nap on the couch after lunch. I was really tired. And the couch looked really cozy. And the kids were quietly reading. And guess what? It felt really gooooooood.
So does this mean I have simply figured out how to adapt to my husband's cultural traditions? Or am I just lazy?
What do you think?
Enjoy the weekend. And take a nap if you can.
Peace!
7 comments:
I hear ya on the stereotyping and the I Got Thangs to DO issue. But with all the snow you're getting, I think it's quite culturally appropriate to nap away.
Oh, and I think we have Pope Gregory I to blame for listing laziness as one of the seven deadly sins.
Here, I'm zinging you with Instant Sleep. *Nap!*
Actually it's the early bird that gets the worm *grin*
I LOVE naps. When I'm really dragging, a twenty-minute nap really gets me going again. That is, when I'm lucky enough to get the chance.
Naps are very big in my household, a WASP & a black woman and we nap regularly. Screw stereotypes. :)
I've been taking naps since high school and fortunately my father strongly believes that 20-min. naps (after lunch) make you a better person throughout the day so I was never traumatized...
Just follow el esposo on this one!
I definitely tend towards the "gotta get stuff done" mindset. But, with all the snow days, I'm quite enjoying the relaxed pace. And I did the next best thing to taking a nap...I went to bed early!
BQ,
I'm going to look up Pope Gregory. And thanks for the instant sleep.
Anisah,
I've always been bad with those things. Early bird? Busy bee? ack! My students think I'm hilarious :(
Kate,
But doesn't siesta sound much better than just a nap?
Carleen,
Can I come hang out with you?
Olivia,
How nice to grow up like that. And I think I will continue to defer to the man on the nap thing.
JBH,
Of course, when I nap, I can't fall asleep on time, which only makes me have to nap again the next day and we get into this ridiculous cycle! Your idea sounds much better.
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