Thursday, I was driving down to see Elegante Mother. I’d been to exercise, stopped at home long enough to water plants, and was on my way. I was about a third of the way there when I realized I was having trouble staying awake. That alone should have scared me into waking up, but I really needed to close my eyes.
I was passing the parking lot of a very large park district sports field. It was almost empty, so I thought I would pull in and take a quick nap. I’ve never done this before, but it seemed to be the best of the choices open to me.
I left the car running so that it would stay cool. I was parked so that I was facing away from the sun. I tilted my head back and was gone in a flash. About ten minutes later there was a loud knocking at my passenger window. A young woman was there, asking if I was all right. I’d fallen asleep with my mouth open, and she must have assumed that I had had a heart attack.
I was mightily embarrassed to have been caught like that, but comforted that a stranger would stop to check up on me. I reassured her that I was fine, and both of us left the parking lot. It seems that just ten minutes made all the difference. I made it to my destination without any problems.
I used to be the original sleep anywhere kid, but as I’ve gotten older my sleep patterns have changed a bit, and not for the best. I have a bad knee that makes it difficult to find a comfortable position in which to sleep, and it wakes me several times during the night. It addition to that, despite the fact that I want to be up at 5:00 in the morning, I still don’t have the smarts to be in bed at 9:00 at night. I really need to work on that. Short changing myself of sleep when I’m already deprived is just stupid! (Don’t tell my step-daughter I used that word. I’m supposed to be erasing it from my vocabulary for the sake of our granddaughters!)
At any rate, all’s well that ends well.
Arrrgh!!!
It's just my state of mind!
I CANNOT believe that you are so out of tune with your body as to not realize BEFORE getting into your car that you were too tired to drive!!!! OMG.
Do NOT get me started.
Ahem….remember that I am the OLDER sister???
With that dubious distinction comes the fact that I respond a bit differently now, and I’m having to learn to read my body differently. First of all, I no longer sleep well at night (most of the time), so I am generally tired during the day. When you add the onset of diabetes to that, my body is responding in ways that are unfamiliar to me.
I was obligated to see Elegante Mother that day. It was late morning, and I had to go. It wasn’t until I was part-way into the drive that I realized how tired I was. Give me credit for stopping for the quick nap. Just those ten minutes or so made the difference, and I made the visit safely.
Speaking of too tired to drive, it seems to me I recall a trip back from Iowa, when YOU were too tired to be driving…..
Buffy–I, for one, am proud of you for doing the smart thing! One cannot always tell that they need a nap until it is too late. Once, driving to a Red Cross assignment, I pulled over for a 10-15 minute nap just 20 minutes into my 3 1/2 hour drive. Like you, I had not slept much the night before, knowing that I had to pack and get on the road the next morning. Little did I realize that it would take all day for “them” to get the paperwork done that authorized my trip. By then I was pretty pooped!
Cop Car, I am reassured by your comment! If ya gotta nap, ya gotta nap. I’d rather more people took the time for a short snooze rather than trying to force their way through a drive. Frankie has a point, about not going if you are too tired, but there are times when those nasty little nap needs just sneak up on ya!
oh well done buffy!i know the temptation would have been just to press on. and sometimes people really do surprise you, how nice that the lady checked on you.
Heck, even me, a relative youngster, has pulled over for a nap. I had to go down to RI for work, and I got about 50 miles into it and was just too tired to keep at it. I too found a store parking lot, took a brief nap, and got back on the road.
Bod, if I thought I could have done it safely, I would have pressed on. It’s a measure of just how tired I was that I needed to stop.
It’s interesting…Dear Husband frequently stops to nap on sailing days, and has said that he sometimes wakes to find sailboats circling his boat, while others try to decide if he is asleep, or ill. Perhaps, as I get older, I’ll have to become less skeptical of the goodness in people. 🙂
Bogie, I’m glad to know that you have the common sense to stop when you are tired. I’m sure that your parents are relieved to know that you are sensible, and safe!
Buffy–Hard as it may be to believe, this parental unit does not worry about Bogie and Dudette. From relatively early ages, each has convinced me of her good sense. I am supremely confident in their judgements and abilities to do the right thing and to care for themselves and others. (Didn’t you know that my kids are perfect?!!!!)
OF COURSE your kids are perfect! *G*
Dear Husband has the same attitude about parenting that you have. He trusts them to make good decisions, and to get themselves out of jams when they goof. It gives them a lot of freedom, tied to a lot of responsibility.
Worrying seems to be my nature…I’d like to give it up and just be in charge of myself, thank you!
Buffy–Now YOU, I worry about. ROFLMAO Fortunately, your ONLY flaw is that you worry. I should have consulted your Elegante Mother about her parental philosophy when I had the opportunity!
Hmpf! I doubt it would have done any good. As near as I can tell, EM never had a parenting philosophy! Or, maybe she did. I can recall her saying, “You wait until your FATHER gets home!” *G*
I have other flaws, but it’s nice of you to overlook them.