We just had three days of company over the weekend. It was kids, their spouses, grandkids, and their dogs, all welcome, so no complaints.

After all that activity, the chair located by a sunny window was a good place for an afternoon nap. It was easy yielding to the temptation.

Naps have become part of my daily routine if I have an hour or so of free time. Usually, I do.

I remember my parents taking naps over the years, especially in their later years.

Even when my dad was active during his busiest years of farming he would sit down with the newspaper just after the noon meal and in a few minutes his head would nod and his newspaper would drop.

Fifteen to 20 minutes later, his head would snap up as would the newspaper in his lap. Then he would say something like, “I have to get going,” and on his feet he would head for the outside and the job he had stopped so he could have lunch.

My mother was an early riser all her life, beginning her day around 5 a.m. Once the kids were grown and she was no longer teaching school, she also liked to squeeze a nap in during the afternoon.

When I was around the age of 4, my mother showed me a brown rug that she had sewn my name on with black thread. I thought that was nice but did not understand why until one horrible day when she put me and the rug in the car one morning and drove to this brick building in town which I later learned was the school.

She took me to a room where there were other kids my age and then she left me.

I could not understand why she was abandoning me and then she quickly exited while I had large tears streaming down my cheeks. I looked out the window as she drove away.

My mother was one of the most tender-hearted people you would ever meet so I am sure she was shedding her own tears on the drive back to the farm.

Later I learned that brown rug was for afternoon naps as we had kindergarten every day, five days a week. Thinking back, it was probably my favorite time of day and the best part of kindergarten.

So nap time has returned in recent years and I can fall asleep easily whether at a family gathering or sitting quietly by myself. All I need is a comfortable chair and I am out.

When I wake up, my wife usually informs me by saying, “You were even snoring.”

I was able to get a good nap while in the waiting room during my wife’s recent surgery. I found a comfortable chair, put my coat over my chest, pulled my cap over my eyes, and an hour later, I was waking up.

Also a few of our weekend guests stole away for a nap during our time together.

However, my napping ability does not compare to Ike, the family dog, who, at age 15 years or so, spends the day either napping or looking for a place to nap. Then he sleeps at night.

So, Ike and I are a pair of old dogs, who know the time of our youth was long ago.

We have earned the right to sleep whenever we can during the day and where ever we find a comfortable spot.

Warm sun, while not required, is very helpful. You can take that from two old dogs.

But the days of the brown rug on the floor are in the past, name or no name.

Rye is a Farm News staff writer and farmer from Hanlontown. Reach him by e-mail at crye@wctatel.net.