Four weeks into the new job and I’m struggling to find my rhythm. Maybe it’s because the first two weeks were full-time and the second two weeks have been part-time. Maybe it’s because I continue to tutor outside of work in addition to the instruction that I do at work. Or it could be the fact that I spent last weekend away from home.
Whatever the reason(s) I feel a little discombobulated. I get up early, go to work, then come home before lunch to take care of household stuff, do my Bible study, read, work on my puzzle, or more often than I care to admit — nap.
I’ve never really been a napper. I have found that if I fall asleep in the middle of the day, I like to knock out for a couple of hours. The problem is that when I wake up, I am often excessively crabby and not fit for human interaction. Or, my mid-day nap interferes with my night-time sleep. Many people have told me to master the ‘catnap’. I’ve tried. True, after 15-20 minutes of napping, I generally feel refreshed. If I get right up and start moving, I have that second wind that everyone talks about. However, I don’t generally want to get up after just 15-20 minutes. If I was tired enough to lie down, I want to get some serious sleep.
And lately, I have been tired enough to lie down. In fact, while I was away last weekend, I took advantage of our free time to nap! Other women did crafts, went for a walk, or even shopped. Me? I was knocked out. When I woke up, since I was not at home with people who love me regardless of how crabby I get, I put on my best behavior and walked with my roommate to the nearest coffee spot. We had a lovely cuppa before we returned for the last activity of the evening. But you can probably guess how that worked out — yup, I was still awake at 1am!
So, I fell asleep on the couch the next evening, woke to go to work, plowed through the next couple of days, and then yesterday took another nap. When I woke, I had dinner, took a walk with my husband, refrained from caffeine, but still found myself awake until almost midnight.
Maybe this is my new rhythm. Maybe I have to learn to be flexible — sleeping when I can.
*********************************
You won’t believe what just happened. I wrote the last line, crawled into bed, and then slept for an hour!
This is definitely a new rhythm for me. I have not been one to stop in the middle of a task to take a phone call or talk to a friend, let alone to lie down for a nap! Remember me? I the one who has been a soldier — marching on to battle unknown foes, kicking butts and taking names. I haven’t been the kind of person who would stop mid-stride, drop all my defenses, and — gasp — sleep!
I think I need to face the facts — I am becoming a napper. All kinds of changes are happening over here.
I lie down and sleep; I wake again because the Lord sustains me.
Psalm 3:5