cough syrup strikes again!

so today . . . i am sitting here staring at my blank computer screen wondering what to write.

the truth is, i was kind of spacey today. i took some cough medicine last night and suffered the effects of it today.

for some reason, over-the-counter medications seem to stay in my system a looooong time. i try to remember to take only half a dose, and to take the final one no later than 12 hours before i have to get up the next day. but last night, i forgot and took a full dose.

i slept really, really well.

but this morning, waking up was hard to do. i smacked the snooze several times--enough times that i apparently lost track. and then i just gave up. finally rollie dragged me up and headed me toward the bathroom. after washing my face and brushing my teeth, i was conscious enough to throw on clothes and race to work.

it is a good thing i only live a mile away from my school.

the first hour wasn't too bad. the second hour was ok. but by the third hour of the day, i just wanted a nap--really, really badly. i found myself sitting at my desk, staring out into space. i couldn't focus or concentrate on anything. i drank a soda, hoping that the caffeine would help. it didn't. i explained the difference between a sentence and a collection of words to my kindergarteners. we wrote words that start with the letter "v" on the board. we started learning about telling time. and all i wanted was for the clock to say 3:30 so i could go home.

and then it was lunch time. i was only half done with my work day, and i still needed a nap. really, really badly.

my kindergarteners, however, apparently did not need a nap. when i went to pick them up from rest time, they were all awake. wide awake. that has never happened before--usually some of them sleep. but not today.

i don't understand it. you should see nap time at school. i would kill for a nap, but those kids fight it like it is brussel sprouts! the kids have been busy all morning. many of them had to get up really early so their parents would have time to drop them off before they had to go to work. they have to be tired. they each get a cot to sleep on, with a pillow and soft, usually fuzzy blanket to snuggle up with. the teacher turns the lights off so the room is dim, and usually soft music is playing (although i have occasionally heard some rather loud, energetic music drifting down the hallway.) and yet they fight it like they will never wake up if they allow their little eyes to close. you cannot believe how many things a child can come up with to do while laying on a cot with just a blanket and a pillow--it is incredible. and no amount of talking will convince them to sleep. "the time will go by faster if you sleep." they have no concept of time! this is meaningless to them!! "you will feel so much better after you sleep." they think they will feel so much better if you just let them get up and play instead of wasting all this time laying around! "just close your eyes and lay really still and you will fall asleep . . . " this may be true, but it is never going to happen.

and then there is the mean teacher tactic "you are staying on that cot until you sleep, so you might as well go to sleep right now!!!" this is a lie. we all know it. when the clock hits 3:00, they are all going to get up whether they have slept or not. but for some reason some teachers seem compelled to give this one a try.

you cannot force a child to sleep. or coerce them. or convince them. or even bribe them. believe me, i know. i've tried . . . children seem genetically programmed to resist sleep.

i've heard cough syrup helps, although i do not think it is a good idea to give a perfectly healthy child a dose of cough syrup just to get them to sleep. but after today, i am pretty sure it would work. it certainly made me sleepy. and i am an adult!

some people think a child is an adult when they turn 18, or maybe 21. some people think it happens when they move out of their parent's home and start supporting themselves financially. some people don't think it really happens until they have children of their own. but i think they are all wrong.

i think the point at which a child turns into an adult is when they WANT to take a nap--without the benefit of cough syrup!