A Shopping Cart Nap

With her patent leather shoes and her cute hair bow, she could take no more so the shopping cart became her napping space. Her mommy was checking out and this little one had no idea what was happening around her. I saw her hands and feet twitch a little bit, but other than that no acknowledgment of the rest of the world. She was out cold.

As I stood in line it made me think of all the times I felt like this in meetings and simply wanted to put my head down on the desk and take a nap. As adults we learn that napping during the day is not an option, at least not in public. As children we are forced to take naps even though we usually didn’t want to lay down. As we grow up we lose the right to take daily naps. I envied this little girl today. She was doing exactly what I wanted to do and reminded me of a time when it didn’t matter what other people thought, I simply did what I wanted.

We work so much into our days that at the end we want to relax and recharge which doesn’t always mean sleeping. For many of us, especially women, we come home to the second shift which means putting on our family hat and working the rest of the day for our family. Cooking, cleaning, homework monitoring, laundry, bedtime authority, and household manager all rolled into the last hours of the day. Adrenaline can only take you so far, then responsibility and obligation take you there rest of the way. Filter all that through the emotions of love and admiration and you get a full time job for Moms and Wives most days of the week. Whew! It is enough to make you want to nap in a shopping cart.

I had a long way to go before I could go to sleep, so I thought about this little gal on my way home. Everyone in line saw her and had the same thought…I too want a nap. The hustle and bustle of everyday life can be exhausting, even when you are doing things you really enjoy and want to do. This image reminded me that my health is just as important as the to do items on my mind. Sometimes you just have to stop and let it all go. Forget what other people think and do what works for you and your world. Sometimes that means a shopping cart nap, preferably when you are not driving the cart.