I just woke up from an hour nap. It was divine! Our family had spent the morning engaged in our usual Saturday morning routine of laundry, cleaning, followed by a stroll through our neighborhood’s annual Nihonmachi Street Fair and lunch at our favorite udon shop Udon Mugizo. By the time we returned home from lunch and window-shopping, my husband and I were pooped. It was 1:00 PM, and the time was ripe for a nap. Our daughter Ilse needed a little wind-down time before she gave into her own slumber, but now she is in the midst of her second hour of a weekend nap.
Taking a nap is one of my favorite ways to relax, one that I hated as a child, but have grown to love since my college days. Three years ago, I wrote about why adults need naps. My rationale rings truer today for me, as I recently took a job promotion and am pregnant with our second child. This working mommy needs a little extra sleep; the weekends are the perfect time to do it.
During a hectic workday, laden with afternoon meetings, I’d love to take a power nap. Thirty minutes would do me some good before I engage in a numbers meeting. While the idea is tempting now since my new hotel is just a ten-minute walk from our home, I just wouldn’t want to leave. If I am going to nap, I like at least 45 minutes…No, I’ll save the weekday naps for maternity leave. In the meantime, I will relish taking a weekend nap.
We are fortunate that Ilse still likes taking naps. At her Montessori school, she goes to sleep on demand and will slumber well past her classmates. At home, weekend nap-taking is part of our weekend routine, because Ilse expends so much energy in the morning. Even if Ilse just sleeps an hour, she is refreshed and pleasant after her nap, ready for more afternoon activities. I will take a refreshed, pleasant Ilse over a cranky Ilse any day (Her teachers would agree)!
Weekends are the perfect days for naps because we keep our schedule light on the weekends. On the occasional hectic weekend of social activities, we schedule in “nap time,” like during the one-hour drive from my parents’ place in Fairfield. When we spend the weekend with extended family, we make time for naps, as Ilse and her cousins play all day and all night. Weekend naps are especially important in the summer when we need a respite from the heat and the sun.
Just like my monthly manicure, weekend naps are a gift and are a necessity for me. I will continue taking weekend naps while I can get them. How do you spend your free time on weekends?
