The afternoon mystery parcel…

My day is usually crazy till around two in the afternoon. By then, my batteries need recharging.

By 2 pm, my mind slowly starts switching off, and my eyes start crossing, as words on my computer start blurring. That is when I head to take a power nap.

My power nap usually does not last more than thirty minutes, but if I do not get my quota for the day, meet me at your own risk.

Image courtesy – Cartoonstock.com

Immediately after my power nap, I have a nice strong cup of filter coffee; and I am then ready to take on the rest of the day, the children’s arrival from school, cooking, writing, household chores and the hundred other things that one needs to do!

However, in the last month, the schedule for my afternoon power naps has gone awry. The reason for it is quite simple.

Between 2 and 3 pm every afternoon, the door bell rings, and a mystery parcel arrives by courier. I sign and take the package, keep it on the side table, and try to go back to ‘power nap mode’.

But, if there are any afternoon-nappers around, you would all agree with me that if a power nap is interrupted, one can never go back to that zone again!

These mystery parcels are the result of my husband’s sudden interest in and realization of the ease and convenience of online shopping.

Sometimes, the mystery parcel is as small as a match box, sometimes it is big and fluffy. Being rudely awakened by the door bell on most afternoons as I am, I don’t even bother opening the packages. I leave them for when my husband gets back.

Yesterday afternoon, three different packages arrived. When my husband got back, I pointed them out to him and sighed, saying that it was a nuisance to receive so many packages.

He took two of the three parcels and asked me to open them. One was a connector cable for my laptop that I had said I needed, as the old one was not working properly.

The other package turned out to be a zoom lens of the clip-on variety for my smartphone to help me pursue my passion in flower photography! This second one was a surprise gift for me.

I think I may just have to train myself to push my power nap to later in the afternoon, when the gentle rustling of leaves, and the rhythmic call of the cuckoo bird will lull me to sleep; where I will dream of parcels that may hold more surprise gifts for me!!!

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Power nap on a Sunday afternoon = Bliss

We all lead such busy lives, running from one appointment to the other, trying to tick-off items on that never-ending Things-to-do List, then kids and chores, and cooking and what not.

Sometimes, by Monday afternoon, I start wishing for the weekend, though if you ask me, those are crazier!

So, now and then, it is nice to have those few minutes of shut eye that happen involuntarily.

There are some great power nappers in my family, who can fall asleep while sitting on the couch. It is fun to watch them drop off as they read the newspaper or a book, their heads lolling slightly, as their mind takes them into nodland.

It’s also fun to watch people on the MRT, late in the evening, trying their best to keep awake and not fall on their neighbour’s shoulder.

My favourite such moments are on a Sunday afternoon, after a heavy lunch when I tuck into a lovely book. Five pages into it and my eyes seek closure, from the craziness of the week; they feel my need to forget the worries and stresses, and transport me to another world for 20 minutes.

It’s only when you wake up that you realize that you’ve been away, recharging your batteries.

I did that this afternoon, and what bliss it was, with a very funny dream thrown into the package.

‘A dream where I was the driver of a nursery school bus. My duties also involved standing at the door of the bus with a big steel tray. Each time a child had to board the bus, I had to ask the child to board the steel tray and only then put them on the bus.’

Totally crazy dream…but what a refreshing nap. I am ready to take on the week but before that…

“I need my coffee.”

Have a great week!