|
|
|
There may be no way out
Got Feedback?
Subscribe now: RSS news feed, plus free headlines for your site |
You are here: Home :: What We Think :: There may be no way out
There may be no way out
  It's terrible! There are bodies everywhere. Some curled up in fetal positions, others with their legs all akimbo. It's morning naptime for all the four-legged members of the Bardwell-Boddy casa. Of course that happens several times a day and, when a person works at home, it's hard to resist the siren song and join them. It's kind of like when one person yawns there can be a cascade effect that might spread across a whole town before it runs its diabolical course.  Susan once confessed to me that when she had a job in downtown Dallas she'd often stand on the sidewalk and fake a yawn just to watch it spread through the crowd. Like I said, diabolical. Some of our animals are fairly conservative during their slumbers. Gladys, our rat terrier, likes to curl up under a blanket, and Smacky Cat most often uses the classic cat pose, upright with feet tucked beneath her body and tail curled around her. Our big dog Katy seems to have no particular preference—if a bed with pillows or a couch with cushions are unavailable at the time, she often lays on the floor with all four feet in the air. Then there's our long-haired black cat Spider, who often relaxes so much his mussed up belly hair, with his little pink tongue hanging out, makes him look a lot like road kill.  There’s little chance he could really die and go unnoticed—he snores, loudly. Cold weather makes naptime worse. Cats who generally prefer to be outside a lot start getting cold feet and looking for places inside to get them warm. In warm weather, no matter how hot it gets, cats seem perfectly happy catching a few z's any time of day outside. Perhaps it's because their cousins, lions, tigers, leopards, and most of the other big cats, are almost all from much warmer climates. Susan has the hardest time getting things done during naptime. Being the alpha female and earth mother of the household anyway, she always collects animals. But if she tries working with her laptop on the couch it becomes pretty much impossible.  Gladys uses Susan's hip to keep her backside warm, several of the cats prefer her lap, which often has a cat helping her with her work by walking in circles on the keyboard, and Katy must have her belly rubbed by one foot, and her back scratched by another. It's a balancing act that has to be seen to be appreciated. I can almost always make it through the temptation of the morning nap, but one or more of the afternoon naps becomes almost toxic. If I choose not to succumb to the siren call, I'm often virtually useless for hours. My brain seems to cloud over and before I know it, I'm asleep in my chair with my chin on my chest.  There are only two ways to combat the deadly nap syndrome. The first is to simply not be around when it happens, and the other is to be so busy I don't notice anything going on around me. Of course that has its drawbacks as well, but I'll save those for another column.   |
Latest articles in What We Think
|
Copyright 2006-2008. All rights reserved.
i