I’m laying in an awkward but comfortable position on the chaise lounge in the family room. The computer is at an odd angle on my lap.
Chaise lounge sounds elegant, but it’s not. We bought it with the house a year ago because it looked expensive and fit the space. It was upholstered in an ’80s pastel peach-and-gray-stripe. I had it recovered in green/khaki microfiber suede to blend with our new wall colour.
I’m laying here because I was just napping. I need to get up to go pee but I don’t want to get up because I’m comfy and if I get up, I will eat the Christmas peanut M&Ms in the glass jar in the pantry. Eventually, my bladder will win and I will feel relieved but frustrated by my lack of self control. What I should eat is protein. That’s what I need. And I should drink a bottle of water. Did you know that often, when you think you are hungry, you are actually thirsty? Drink water and perhaps you won’t eat M&Ms.
I was napping because of several things. It’s Sunday afternoon and that’s what we always do on the Day of Rest. We nap in the afternoon. At least that’s what my parents did. And they expected me to rest. I don’t remember if all of my seven older brothers rested too, I just remember that Sunday afternoons were very quiet in my house and I often napped. Now I nap because I really like napping on Sunday afternoons. It feels like a treat. No matter how little I’ve accomplished during a particular week, I feel like I deserve a nap on Sunday afternoon. If I don’t get one, I’m a little grumpy.
I actually should get up and put away the Christmas decorations. I have three women coming over tomorrow from my non-fiction writers’ critique group. Actually, to be more grammatically accurate, women from the critique group for Non-Fiction writing. They will be critiquing my article on Dachau. It’s nearly ready to go to a magazine for an issue on War and Peace. I hope it is accepted. The editor said he was interested, based on my query, but this would be my first published article. It’s not a famous magazine like my friend Judy who won top 10 in a Maclean’s contest, and it has a funny name, but if they published my article, I’d buy ten copies, send eight to family, frame one and keep one to show my friends and I would finally feel like a Real Writer.
I’m also napping because I’ve been staying up very late working on the article. Some Real Writers, like Andrew Coyne get paid for writing during the day. During the height of the Liberal’s pre-Christmas Coalition debacle (aka Dion’s Last-Coffin-Video-Nail), Andrew posted 4-8 well written blog articles every other day, responding to the events of the faux pas. I marvel at that prolificacy. But I need to write at night – when it’s quiet. So I don’t get a full night of sleep very often and a Sunday afternoon nap is a way to catch up and give my body a chance to rejuvenate.
I was also napping because I was at a party this afternoon. A “Late Seasonal Open House Because Our Kitchen Reno Took Longer Than We Expected” celebration. My across-the-street neighbor just spent the last three months doing an extreme kitchen makeover and invited all the neighbors in to take a look and visit with each other. It was delightful. I think this is one of the best overall group of neighbors we have come to know in any community we have lived. Oh, I loved a lot of my previous neighbors, but to have such a large group in such a small area is a real pleasure.
Attending parties is delightful and fun. I love it and enjoy every minute. But I’m an introvert (by Myers-Briggs definition). Being around people saps my emotional energy. I need to have the balance of being alone to recharge my batteries. I also had two glasses of wine and that made me sleepy.
The last reason I’m napping is because my body worked hard yesterday. I skied at Sunshine Village. It was delightful. But my torso was getting unusual spasms and muscle cramps after standing for three hours at the party today so I needed to lie down and rest.
There. I’m done. I have to get up now. My son needs supper, my bladder needs emptying and my computer battery needs power. Just like yesterday's post, If this reads like a ramble, I apologize. You see, I just woke up. Did I tell you I was napping?
To borrow from Mark Twain, “I didn't have time to write a short (blog), so I wrote a long one instead.”
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