Ode to a Disco Nap

Friday night did not go according to plan -  finding myself fending of the advances of a Kenyan man at the Notorious BIG movie premier party came a complete a surprise to me.  Especially on an evening I'd been looking forward to singing along with David Bowie and the muppets, but I suppose that's how things work out.  

But back to my Ode to the Disco Nap, in the grand tradition of (butchering) Keats, I will begin:

My eyes ache, and face stretched too-tight with the day's pains

My mind, as though swimming through a vat of taffy

Or voided of all thoughts freezes in the blank emptiness

One minute more and the film of dull sickness will drag me down....

My sincerest apologies, I'm finished.  Though that is truly what the end of along  day and the first hints of fatigue can feel like.  For years and years after the Accident, I thought it would be impossible for me to ever get through the day without nap breaks.  I wasn't sure I'd be able to get a job that didn't allow me to take naps.  I've gotten so much better, I can usually make it through a day (though I've definitely spent some lunch breaks in dreamland) but I wouldn't be able to do half the things I do if it weren't for disco naps.  

As I said, Friday did not go according to plan.  All week I had been looking forward to going to the Labyrinth sing along at the 92Y in Tribeca.  I asked person after person, and no one seemed to like the Labyrinth, or at least not well enough to go to or get excited about a sing-along. Finally on Thursday I took a deep breath and decided to go by myself.  It'd be more fun with friends, but I wasn't about to miss this.  Much to my horror when I tried to buy a ticket they were sold out!  I was crushed.  Hours later P invited me along to a movie premier party, she didn't know what movie, but it sounded fun.  We'd have our own Labyrinth sing along another day!

Friday was a long day, by 6:00 p.m. I was beginning to feel the black hole of fatigue siphoning my energy away.  On the subway ride home I was toying with the idea of toughing it out.  I can , ignore it and break through to my second wind, but that is really not advisable.  However when I saw my beckoning bed I set my alarm for an hour and lay down for one of my favorite things in the world ... a disco nap.  

 

An hour later, fully energized, I bounced up, got dressed and met P in Midtown.  Apparently the movie premier party was for the Notorious BIG movie premier.  We were the only two white people there.  It was interesting, and a fun anecdote to say the least, but when her friend didn't show up for an hour I had no regrets leaving the Kenyan man trying to buy us drinks, for my favorite LES diner, Sidewalk Cafe.  After a few cups of tea we headed down to Eldridge, this cute little LES lounge to meet up with some friends.    I try not to make a habit of getting home at 5 a.m. but it's fun every so once and a while.   

TBI survivors are advised to stick to routine, set schedules, and avoid stresses at all costs.  The first time (I remember) a doctor telling me I needed to start living this vanilla existence, I was shocked, appalled, and thought she was just trying to control my life and keep me from doing anything fun.   After years of experience living with a head injury, and some unfortunate incidents, I have come to see that she had only my best interests in mind.  However, though I agree that it is good to try to stick to a routine, and my body appreciates it when I do, I also think that variety is the spice of life.   Throwing my schedule off, or not getting enough sleep is like playing with Pandora's box of  TBI-related deficits.  I have to walk on eggshells, and be hyperaware of what my body is telling me until my body is back to its routine.   Everything hinges on the naps ... being able to take a nap beforehand and go in well-rested, being able to take naps for a few days after.  Naps have saved my life -both literally and figuratively....