To Nap or Not to Nap

I had a serious life decision today. I was so tired after running errands this morning that all I wanted to do was to take a nap. Usually, I would guilt myself into staying awake, after all, naps are luxurious. I didn't deserve to take a nap. But then I started to wonder, when did naps become so taboo? My body was tired. So the normal response would be to give it rest. When did my mind take over telling my body that its need weren't important?

Weekend Warrior Mentality

Decades ago, I remember weekends were spent doing household chores and resting from the busy work week. After a 40+ hours of working, it was expected to have some downtime - maybe read the newspaper, watch some TV, and play with the kids in the backyard, so you could get back at it bright and earlier Monday morning. Then somewhere along the line, the idea of "Work Hard, Play Hard" came into society's consciousness. Now people were spending their weekends hiking, biking, climbing mountains, and other extreme sports. So when these weekend warriors returned to work on Monday, they could brag about their "crazy weekends," but their bodies were exhausted.

Lazy Weekends

What got lost in all of it was the idea of resting on the weekend. Now whenever I run errands on a Friday, clerks inevitably ask, "Got any plans this weekend?" Now, I understand that they are just being friendly, but the underlying assumption is that only busy activity-filled weekends are worthwhile. I think I'll start answering with, "Nope, no plans, just going to be lazy this weekend," and see their response.

So back to my late morning conundrum, to nap or not to nap. This morning I decided to actually listen to my body and give it what it wanted and needed. And so I napped.... And my body felt heard, respected and thankful. In the future, I hope to listen to my body more often. To give it what it wants and needs. And to take back the notion that rest is lazy.