There is one trait that my family shares that is kind of unusual. We sleep. A LOT! At just about any time of day, morning, noon, or night, you can usually find someone asleep around our house. If you count the cats, that's pretty much a 24 X 7 proposition.





We had one of Blake's friends over the other day and he was totally surprised when I mentioned this. He said that almost no one naps at his house. I thought that was pretty strange. Matt and Blake nap as often as they can manage it and fall asleep every time we go anywhere in the car. I don't even mess around, I go get in bed, shut the door, and pull the covers over me. When I nap it's serious business. Tony absolutely refuses to do this, but then he spends more time snoozing in his recliner than I do on my naps. On any given night, he usually snoozes from about 4:30 to 5:30-ish and then again from 9:30 to about midnight when he wakes up briefly and then stumbles into bed.

My parents were the same way. My Mom would snooze on the couch at least once or twice a day, and my most familiar sight was my Dad sitting upright in his recliner sound asleep with his hand tucked inside his shirt collar (not sure what that was all about, it was kind of a Napoleon thing). My Mom said that my Dad once fell asleep in the middle of a word. Not in the middle of a conversation, in the middle of a WORD. My husband literally fell asleep on a train - standing up!

Blake was recently featured in the slide show at his Scout meeting for their summer camp. Here are all the pictures they showed of him:






But wait, there's more:





I wish there was some kind of an award for sleeping because my family would almost certainly win it. Although I have to say sleeping is it's own reward. As I've mentioned, my family is exceptionally healthy. I, myself have not been sick since December of '07 when I had a slight cold (I know you're sick of hearing that, but I never get tired of saying it and I might as well enjoy it until the next time I manage to get sick!). Tony and the boys do catch colds and viruses a little more frequently than that, but not as much as my friend's kids seem to. And sometimes when you're really tired, that Saturday afternoon nap is just like nirvana! It's usually the best sleep I get all week.

At this point, you're probably thinking something is wrong with all of us. Actually you're right. Narcolepsy runs in my family. I'm the only one I know who has actually been tested for it, but I would be extremely surprised if all the people in my family didn't have it. My paternal grandfather actually died from it. He was a traveling salesman of all things and he fell asleep behind the wheel. I take medication for it - they give you Ritalin, surprisingly enough. I take a very low dose, but it's enough to keep me from falling asleep in meetings or at stop lights and stuff. I've tried to get Tony and the boys to take it, but he's in total denial and he won't let me give it to the boys.

The testing is actually pretty interesting. They put you in a sleep lab and stick all sorts of wires to you (I was picking rubber cement out of my hair for a week!). They have you get a good nights sleep in the lab, then they have you take a 20 minute nap every two hours. Best day of my life! They measure if you fall asleep for every nap and how long it takes you to fall asleep. The average person falls asleep in 10-15 minutes. A narcoleptic falls asleep anywhere from 30 seconds to 3 minutes, literally as soon as your head hits the pillow. I went into full REM sleep for all five naps, which is a pretty strong reading.

One good thing is that it permanently excuses you from jury duty. Could you imagine? I could no more sit there and listen to lawyers drone on for hours than fly a jet plane! I think that's why I didn't go further in college. I just couldn't bear to sit and listen to teachers talk all the time. Work can be a challenge sometimes. I'm fine if I'm busy, but slow afternoons and long meetings are torture and sometimes I do sneak in a 5 minute afternoon catnap just sitting there in my chair. I really hope I don't snore, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I might! I made sure my managers know, so if they do catch me snoozing, hopefully they'll understand.

Anyway, I thought you'd enjoy a little peek into my sleepy little family!



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