Quiet Time

When I was a child, Nap Time was dreaded. I could not believe that I had to stay in my room, in my bed, every single afternoon for a nap. No doubt, my mother needed a Quiet Time more than I did, but that is neither here nor there. I found the whole idea of naps demeaning, oppressive and utterly unnecessary. Never mind that my "nap years" were spent in Victoria and Houston,Texas, or Oklahoma City, Oklahoma where the summers could be stifling hot. I should have been delighted to spend the Heat Of The Day in a darkened, air-conditioned room, surrounded by my toys and books in a cozy bed. I always slept, eventually. Obviously, my mother knew that I needed that nap as much as she needed at least a little time to herself. (Oh, and I knew for a fact that it was the Heat Of The Day because every adult in my life told me so: "Nancy Paige Kemper! Are you crazy or do you think I am?!?!  Go upstairs RIGHT THIS MINUTE and get in your bed! It is The Heat Of The Day and your Nap Time, young lady!"

When I went to kindergarten at Ridgeview Elementary school in Oklahoma City, Nap Time was replaced by Quiet Time. After lunch, Miss Service, our teacher would command all 15 of us to get our Quiet Time mats out of our cubbies and lie on the floor of our classroom. She would dim the  lights, sit in her chair in the middle of our prone, wiggly bodies, and say the following in a soft, soothing voice:

"THIS is my Quiet Time.

My head is down, my eyes are closed;

My hands and feet are still.

THIS is my Quiet Time."

She would repeat the Quiet Time Mantra 3 times, and there was not a sound in the room. We didn't move, we didn't open our eyes, we were completely under her hypnotic spell. Quiet Time was serious business at Ridgeview Elementary.  I don't know how long Quiet Time lasted. All I know is that I never whispered to my friends, never opened my eyes and my hands and feet were STILL. I adored Miss Service, but the Quiet Time Mantra, besides being soporific, was somewhat terrifying. I don't know what I thought was going to happen to me if I squirmed, sniffed or giggled. I only knew that silence and stillness were essential to my survival and promotion to first grade.

I have matured considerably since I was a kindergartener. I have had many months, sometimes whole years go by without a nap to my credit. What a foolish girl I was!! What was I thinking?!?!  Nap Time is  Golden!

Although I appreciated the occasional nap  during college, I didn't fully realize the true value of an afternoon lie-down until I was pregnant with our first child. Napping was not a luxury, it was a compulsion that could not be ignored. By one o'clock everyday, my eyelids weighed 10 pounds each. My limbs felt like enormous water balloons that I could only move in slow motion. As soon as I could get home from teaching school (well-past the one o'clock siren song of slumber), I would throw myself face-first on the bed where I would dream, snore and drool happily until morning sickness hit me at 5:00 PM. Yes, I only had morning sickness in the evening. Fortunately, the seasick feeling only lasted the first three months of my Great Expectation. Otherwise, I believe Ed may have jumped the matrimonial ship completely. Bad enough to come home everyday to a wife with sheet marks all over her face, a cold kitchen as well made the future look pretty grim.

Young mothers are very resourceful when they need Quiet Time. I had a friend who was pregnant with Precious Baby #2 when Precious Baby #1 was 14 months old. My friend was desperate for a nap and #1 was not remotely interested in closing her Baby Blues for even a quick snooze. Desperate Mama closed the door of the Baby Darling's room with both of them in there, made sure all the child-proofing was in place, sprinkled the floor with Baby #1's favorite toys and climbed into the crib herself for  40 winks. Precious Toddler was perfectly happy to cruise around the room playing with her Fisher-Price collection and my exhausted friend was handy, although unconscious, in the baby bed. Now THAT is grace under pressure!

Now that I am beyond the child-rearing years, naps still have so much to offer. There are many nights when sleep eludes me,  so recharging with a Power Nap after hiking several hours in the morning is heavenly. I open all the windows, let the mountain breezes and bird songs take me away to the Land of Nod for an hour (or maybe two) and wake up refreshed and restored. The dog is a big fan of The Nap after a morning chasing chipmunks and running in-and-out of streams, so she plops down on her dog bed and snores right along with me.

I invite you to partake of a nap, now and then. Just close your eyes, think back to those early days when you would finally give in to the softness of your favorite pillow and blankey, and surrender to slumber for just a little while. The rest of your day will be ever-so-much-more pleasant for you and your loved ones, I promise. Repeat after me: "THIS is my Quiet Time...

Sweet Dreams.