The Power Nap Comeback

Dear Teacher,  

Nobody takes rest more seriously than the chinstrap penguin. Known as the true champions of power napping, during breeding season these feathered friends take more than 10,000 naps a day, each only about four seconds long.  Somehow, these little blinks of sleep add up to about 11 hours of rest while they guard their eggs and tiny chicks.

Both parents share the work.  One heads out to sea for food while the other stays with the nest, fighting off drowsiness and constant demands from little ones.  It's the only known case of an animal surviving for weeks on such short sleep bursts and still raising healthy young.

And you, Teacher, there in your classroom probably feel ready for a long winter's nap.  For too long you've been catching little blinks of rest in the midst of all the work. You can relate to the constant demands of developing emotionally, socially, and academically healthy students, while surviving on short bursts of energy.  You faithfully share the work with your co-teachers and principal, switching from the tiring classroom management side of things, to feeding knowledge in a way that's appetizing.  You're constantly on guard for predators, keeping students' minds and bodies safe.  

But with the gruel of work, your mind and body may not always feel safe -- Safe from weariness, depression, exhaustion, and overwhelm.  So this holiday break, seek true, restorative rest. Amongst all the festivities, fight the temptation to overcrowd and undernourish, overcommit and undertake.  Instead, seek a Matthew 11:28 kind of restoration: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

Nodding off with you,
Mindy
Christian Educator & School Counselor