sleeping the day away

I  resent sleeping. it always seems to be a waste of time. somehow, just before I am ready for bed, I remember all the things that I had wanted to accomplish that day. those tasks and thoughts crowd out any possibility of drifting off to sleep. Instead, I spend more hours than I care to admit, trying to solve the problems of the world. as a veteran night shift worker, my body has become quite accustomed to going without sleep.  My husband  is of the opposite opinion of mine; he loves sleep, more than most other things in his life.Indeed, Max will tell you that pretty much any problem that you have is either cause by lack of sleep or can be cured by having a nap . If I had a cold, headache, foot pain, anything, it was because I had not gotten enough sleep. If I was angry because he left the kitchen in a mess, forgot to take out the garbage, forgot my birthday, it was not because he was at fault; it was because I had worked night shift, making me over-tired and cranky. the advice was always the same: go have a nap.
Before we had children, I thought that this theory of his was simply a way of deflecting blame in husband and wife spats. I was wrong. our children will tell you that no matter what was wrong in their lives he would tell them the same thing: you need to get more sleep. Girl trouble, boy trouble, school trouble, all could be cured by getting to bed by a decent hour or sleeping in a few mornings.
what is truly spectacular about Max's sleep theory is how he practices what he preaches. the man can sleep anywhere! laying down, sitting up, in a chair, in a bed, hammock or chair; give him a pillow and a sunbeam and the man will be snoring within 2 minutes. I have seen him fall asleep while reading and still hold onto the book while removing paint off the walls with the chainsaw noises that emanate from him as he goes off to lala land. if there was a Guinness book of world record for the most unusual places to fall asleep, Max would win. I have even found him asleep in the bathtub. You simply have to admire something like that!
when we were first together, I resented his "sleep theory"; however, over the years, I have come to admire and appreciate it. after all, it works in kindergarten. the teacher would put down the mats, have everyone curl up for an hour, and wake up refreshed and ready to learn for the rest of the day. Whole countries have embraced the concept with siestas and closures from 2-4.
So although, I resent the time that I waste needing to sleep, I do believe that this is one area in which my husband might be wiser. the world might be a better place if we all just curled up every day and had a nap. Maybe, the problem of the many factions that cannot get along is nothing more than that they are cranky from not sleeping enough. instead of soldiers, and war and fighting, we should give them a snack, put down the blankies and make them have a nap. when nap time is over, they would have a new perspective, be able to use their words and at least try to get along. it probably wouldn't work, but then no one ever got hurt from having a nap.

as for me, I will continue to spend way to much time trying to fall asleep instead of actually sleeping, and listening to the rhythm of my husbands breathing as he succumbs to his great cure all: a bit of extra sleep.