Nap Time!

Nap times are sooo good most days; today, not so much.  Most days have me going on a joy ride as people get dropped off for work and school before I take the wheel to return home to feed the dogs.  Everyday, I plan to get back into bed as soon as possible.  Why?  Because I don't fall asleep until well after 2:00 am.  I know.

Since returning to southern California, in summer, my reasoning is always, conserve energy while trying to stay as comfortable as possible (while also eating as little as possible) because we are still living paycheck-to-paycheck.  If I'm asleep, t.v. and computer are off.  The a/c still kicks on automatically to cool The Place down to 74 degrees, but if I nap before having to go taxiing around town picking people up from jobs and school, it's like I've not even been home.  My body doesn't respond to excessive heat and bright sunlight very well - not at all, actually - so I sort of have to recover from high desert temps; solution... have restorative nap.  I guess you can say this is my "how-to" manage summers with fibromyalgia.

October began with me prematurely - excitedly - welcoming in yoga pants season.  I was SO off target.  Here we are mid-November and the air-conditioner still kicks on around 3:00 pm.  It's nearly 11:00 pm now and still going on and off.  It just kicked on as I typed, "on and off!" Whoa!  Ahhh, feels sooo good.  Anyway, here we are inching our way closer and closer to Thanksgiving and I just started wearing the ol' yoga pants this week; mornings have been so cool that I've even worn socks & sneakers... brrrr.  Problem.  Remember the fibromyalgia I mentioned above?  Well, did you know that a good indicator that you are in the midst of a flare-up is when you walk out into the the lovely cool night air and that delightfully cool night air sometimes causes a burning sensation... all over exposed body parts?  That's right, air and light make my skin hurt. Oh, and I must not forget, wind.  Sigh.

So, back to naps.  Man, I love naps.  I remember when the kids were little and I'd pop in a Disney vhs after lunch playtime; we'd lay out our favorite squishy, quilted comforter on the living room carpet, grab some pillows, blankies and buddies to snuggle with while we watched the movie.  Movie?  What movie.  We'd all be asleep ten minutes into whatever movie was playing.  My mom was usually around to help with the babies, so she made sure to keep ears and eyes open if little ones needed anything while mommy was sleeping.  Oh naps, good times.  Thank goodness for babies... and naps.

Naps are like medicine.  I have to take my meds every single day to be able to function; same with naps.  Sometimes things don't jive and naps can seem like a nightmare.  That happened today.  I'm pretty sure I forgot to take my meds last night... very bad. We had evening company that distracted me from nightly routine and I didn't fall asleep until 4:00 am.  I awoke with pain from bad tooth that's been giving me trouble for a while.  So today was a "Four Advil every six hours for pain" day.  By the time I felt some relief from horrible toothache, it was late morning.  I crashed.  I slept hard - no dreaming, no tossing, no turning, no finding that perfect comfy spot, no blanket snuggles, no puppy snuggles, just sleep.  I felt like crap when I woke up.  Sometimes naps aren't as magical as I like them to be.  This bad nap threw my day off just a bit, but not so much that I forgot to take my meds again.

I'm fifty, and I often call myself "old."  Truth is, I've felt old half my life - no thanks to fibromyalgia and other stuff.  So, I'm getting older, but not complaining.  I love the gray streaks in my bangs.  I love the possibility of grandchildren in the not-too-distant future.  I love that I don't have to pretend to be anything I am not.  I love that I'm eligible for AARP discounts.  I even love when my kids are amused by my crankiness.  But mostly, I love the naps.