Sleeping Habits

Who would have thought that one who can’t keep his eyes open past 10pm would be such a fit for a night owl? It’s no joke that Brandon is ready to get in bed by 9:15pm on most working nights and 10:30pm on the weekends. You may ask what he does for a living that makes him so pooped - but that has nothing to do with it since he has honestly been this way before college. He even says that he went to bed early during his days at LSU. By the time 10pm rolls around, his eye lids had weights on them!

I, on the other hand, have been a night owl since I can remember. Back when I was in high school, Mom and Dad would know they could expect a “show” when they heard me coming around the corner to the living room. I would stand up on the fireplace hearth and dance a little jig and sing my latest diva greatest hit! When the clock struck 10pm...I was getting wound up & energized! 

So, where’s the marriage moment in all this? We have had to specifically address these differences because there are times, as you can imagine, where our natural tendencies have frustrated the other. Through continued communication on this topic, we are learning that this is how we’re wired. There’s nothing wrong with Brandon going to bed early or taking naps - just like there is nothing wrong with me having the tendency to get wired once the sun goes down!!  

Quite often, I just want to put on my boots and go out to meet everyone at the Wildhorse Saloon - but my “suitable helper” is already asleep on the couch and it’s only 8:55pm. Then there are times on Sunday afternoons where we are leaving church and Brandon can’t get home fast enough to make his palette for the “Sunday afternoon nap”. I’m thinking to myself, “It’s gorgeous outside...what a perfect day for a picnic at the park!” 

Whenever we talk this through, we find ourselves coming back to the point that, “This is my body’s natural tendency - and it’s something that my family has always done”. This statement speaks for both of us!  Brandon’s body is naturally tired at 10pm and his family loves to take naps - and my body is naturally wired at 10pm and my family loves to stay up until the wee hours of the night! He’s grown up taking naps - I hardly ever took a nap!

We are learning how to meet in the middle. I feel extra loved on the nights that Brandon wants to go by Starbucks so that he can stay up with me for a night on the town or some kind of “Whit-tastic adventure”. He is thankful that he has me to get him "out and about"!! On the other hand, Brandon feels supported when he sees that I am trying to slow down more, choosing to take naps, and making an effort to get in bed early. Not to mention, I have found that I am hardly ever sick anymore - because I am actually getting the rest that my body needs. Even though I don’t crave naps like Brandon does - I have learned to enjoy them! “I lie down and sleep; I wake again because the LORD sustains me.” -Psalm 3:5 - Rest is good for the soul!!