How to tell if you've been napping or sleeping...........

Sleeping is awesome. Who doesn't love a good night's sleep? But napping is a step above awesome. Napping is luxurious, indulgent, and just plain needed some days. Like today. I had two crappy nights' sleep in a row and I slept through my alarm this morning (note: I never do this!). I had a physical therapy appointment at 8:30 a.m. (which, for those of us lucky enough to have summers off, is horribly early!) and I woke at 7:57 a.m. I rushed through a shower, skipped makeup and hair and made it in time. I had plans through the afternoon but visions of a nap kept dancing in my head throughout the day, and I never did shake my "just got up" feeling.

Finally, around 4 p.m. I took a nap. A glorious two-hour nap snuggled under my most favorite soft blanket. At one point, I woke, saw some light in the room, and decided I was just up too early, so I fell back to sleep.

When I woke up "for real" I had that sudden confusion and had to get my whereabouts before I knew what was going on. That's the difference between a nap and sleeping.

Sleeping: you wake up, grumble that it's morning already and drag your sorry ass out of bed.
Nap: you wake up confused as to where you are, what time it is, and who you are. When the jumble clears, you drift back to sleep or wake slowly, because, really, there's no hurry.

Sleeping: you wake up with horrific hair and deep wrinkles that will need to be ironed away with a shower (and the hair will need to be soaked in water for a "do over" - so much for evening showers!)
Nap: You wake with your hair molded into a comical shape, with pillowcase wrinkles on your face, and one eye smeared with mascara.

Sleeping: You wake tangled in multiple covers - sheet, blanket, comforter and have to remove them layer by layer before you can extract yourself from the bed.
Nap: You wake covered by your most favorite soft blanket because you slept on top of all the other covers and you immediately snuggle down again because, really, why would you leave that poof of happiness?

Sleeping: You wake with a laundry list of things you need to do that day and start making mental checklists.
Nap: You wake up and think "Crap! Now I have to make dinner!" and decide it's cereal and/or pizza delivery night.

Sleeping: You wish you could keep sleeping "just a little bit longer" when you wake up.
Nap: You CAN sleep just a little bit longer, because you had the luxury of napping so really, what's more pressing?

Napping is a treat! Enjoy it!