Miss Babylon's Babblings

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Sleep

My grandpa loved to sleep. He often referred to sleep as "beautiful, golden, delicious, eternal sleep." He loved sleeping so much that on one occasion when he was fighting in World War II, he lay fast asleep and undisturbed when one entire side of the building that he was sleeping in blew up. We teased him that experiences such as that prepared him so that later in life he was able to sleep comfortably in the middle of a busy room while many of his thirteen children (and later grandchildren) crawled all over him. I often think of my grandpa when I am lucky enough to be reveling in "beautiful, golden, delicious, eternal sleep."

I think my love for sleeping, napping, snuggling, slarming, or what have you must be partially genetic, and my grandpa isn't the only evidence I have of this. My grandma was notorious for falling asleep while reading her children bedtime stories--all the while claiming "I'm awake. I'm awake." Both my mom and dad admit that they struggle to keep their eyes open during their myriads of meetings. My cousin always talks about being "all groggy and tuckered out." as she hunkers down for a nap. My sister sleepily (and wisely, I might add) mumbled one morning as I was trying to wake her up "Oh. . . but my bed has been so good to me." Another one of my sisters used to love quoting one of the children books we grew up reading when she was tiredly eating breakfast--"It's back to bed for me said Fred" she would say. So as you can see it must be in my genes to need (and to crave) a lot of sleep. However, genetic or not--the world doesn't seem to understand people who need a lot of sleep. Like it or not (and I don't), the world caters to people who are "morning people." It seems like to be really and truly productive, you've got to be a morning person. Oh well . . . that is another "soap box" (or maybe just insecurity) of mine--and I think I've babbled long enough for one blog, so I'd better not even go there. Anyhow, I think I feel a "happy nappy," as Christie says, calling my name right about now, so I had better leave that blog for another day.