The joy of sleeping in

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Listed under the Special Skills section of my resume are ballet, cooking and sleeping in. Just kidding. But really, if sleeping in were an Olympic sport, I would get a gold medal. If you wanted to give me a present, you should give me a day where I can sleep in. As The Postal Service (the band, not the mail delivery system) said, “Don’t wake me; I plan on sleeping in.”

It feels as if I used to sleep in all the time, as my non-full-time-job lifestyle afforded me such joy. But I suppose that’s not quite true. In high school, I would have to wake up at 6 a.m. or some time when the sun wasn’t up due to my hour-long bus ride (yes, that’s how we do it in the country). And then on Saturdays I woke up at 8 a.m. to go to dance rehearsal for the day. In college there were some days when I would have an 8 a.m. class, and some days when my first class was at 6 at night. This allowed for a very flexible sleeping schedule, which I miss, oh so much. And now I wake up at 8 a.m. every day, Monday through Friday. One would think I would have gotten used to waking up so early (and trust me, I know some people get up even earlier than I do); but, oh no. If I could sleep in every day I would. However, getting only one or two days a week to sleep in makes it all the more special.

If you feel the same way, you should relish in the glory of sleeping in. Here is how it should be done. Wake up to the silence of no annoying ringing alarm clock. Take the time to open your eyes, look at the clock, and then not care about what time it is (or don’t look at the clock at all). Now close the shades, pull the covers up, and sink your head back into that wonderfully cushiony pillow. You can lie there and think about anything you want, like whether or not your significant other will want to get brunch as much as you do, or think of the title of your best-selling memoir. Close your eyes and drift slowly back to sleep. Then, sleep and sleep until you want to. If I can’t fall back asleep, I’ll just lie there and daydream, or cuddle with my cat.

Sometimes, I feel the need to justify why I slept in. “Oh, well I worked really hard yesterday,” or, “I slept in so I’ll have the energy to clean the house today.” These things may or may not be true. The truth is, you don’t need an excuse to sleep in. As Nike says, “Just do it!”

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