Long Naps and Long Lunch Hours

I have a friend who I used to say was wise beyond her years, but as the years have gone by…you know.  We are always discussing how “maturing” changes things in your life, your body, and in your entire outlook.

Most of you have seen the Jennifer Aniston commercial where she can’t sleep, and she just keeps counting how many hours of sleep she will get if she falls asleep at that moment.  A lot of us can relate.  I even took to praying “God, please let me go to sleep; I have to be up at 4:45 am for this 7 am class”.

But as my friend reminded me, we are retired!  She told me that if she finds that she can’t sleep she just gets up.  Sometimes she may read, watch a movie, start to clean out a closet, pay bills, whatever she wants to do.  I got up one morning to find that another friend had done the Daily Wordle at 3 am that morning.  She said she couldn’t sleep.

My friend said that if she gets sleepy at about 4 am or so, she gets back in the bed and sleeps until…unless she has appointments that she must keep.  She said that sometimes she just stays up, and then at about 1 pm sleep may start to get to her so she takes a nap.  Who says you can’t take a nap at 1 pm?  Is there a law that we don’t know?  I always hated naps in kindergarten and first grade.  I’m not a power napper.  When I go to sleep, I sleep so the nap may turn into a 4-hour “power” nap, but now I can do this because I am retired.

Another thing that I have learned since retirement is to slow down when I eat.  The doctor informed me that was part of my digestive problem–I eat too fast.  As a former public school educator, you had 30 minutes for lunch which included the 5 minutes it took you to go back to your classroom because someone left something, the 5 minutes talking with a student, or going to get your lunch and/or warming it up.  I forgot–the bathroom break (you could not leave your class).  Basically, those in education could eat an entire lunch in 10 to 15 minutes, and be back to open up their classrooms, standing at the door to greet students by the end of the lunch period.  Old habits are hard to break, and I am a fast eater.  So I now take my time, chew more, put the fork down between bites, or as my friend does read a magazine article, or have a great conversation with a friend. Why was I rushing to finish eating? I can now take that entire lunch hour or hours because I am retired.

I have no excuse now to not be rested because I can’t sleep or have indigestion problems because I’m eating too fast.  There is no set time to nap like in kindergarten, and lunch can be as long as I desire.

It’s the little things in life, enjoy “your” time.  Remember “thisisyourbestyear”.

*Sometimes if I can’t sleep, I text my cousin. If she is up because she can’t sleep either, we have the best conversations in the early morning hours.