Husband Follies Number ZZZZ – Narcolepsy or Napping?

My husband Gary, one of my favorite blogging subjects, is a funny and quirky guy. That’s why this Husband Follies series was born. (Simply go to the search feature on the blog to search for other entries – you may get a bunch of laughs from them.) Back to Gary, he marches to his own drummer, and as his father once told me upon our meeting, “Gary is so far out in left field, he is in another ballpark.”

Today we will discuss his odd habit of dropping off to sleep at any given moment, appropriate or not. He can be sitting straight upright, holding something – recently it was a remote, but also there is this photo of him dropping off to nap with a pencil in hand, and he won’t even let go of the object while dozing, or slump down – he stays completely erect. Soon after he drops off like this, he will go into a deeper sleep and shortly thereafter, one will hear his gentle ZZZZZZ snore. (Thank goodness I am not writing about a grizzly bear snore – he has a soft delicate snore that I love to imitate.)

I envy this ability to easily nap. When we are on an airplane, whether it is going a short distance or overseas, the minute the wheels start backing up, Gary is dozing off. I am bug-eyed wide awake, whether I am sleep deprived or not. In fact, the only way I can sleep or doze while sitting upright, is to take a powerful sleeping pill on said international flights.

I am high energy and I do not nap generally speaking, no matter how exhausted I might be, or how little sleep I got the night before. An exception to this is late afternoons at dusk on my deck in our condo in Margate. After a full day of beach and physical activity, and a fully reclined comfy chaise lounge, the ocean waves just lull me off to a brief doze. I usually awaken in about 10 minutes feeling very refreshed but sometimes it is as long as 30 minutes. Again, though, it is in a reclining position, and I believe the sound of the ocean lulls me to sleep.

Getting back to Gary, he might be watching TV, talking to me, or playing Words with Friends and all of a sudden, I hear that subtle ZZZZZZ, knowing he has dozed off. He also enjoys napping before his hockey games, and the way he scores goals these days, the naps are possibly his secret weapon.

So in the latest episode of Husband Follies, Gary decided out of the blue that he wanted to go out to the movies and see the recently released Disney/Pixar gem, “Toy Story 4.” Generally we go to movies rarely anymore, being totally content to watch them from home via Netflix, Prime, or on TCM, my favorite channel for old movies. In fact as I write this, a terrific Marx Brothers comedy is on in the background on TCM. What was also surprising from my always surprising husband is that he chose an animated Disney feature as his must see selection. I am the animation/Disney/Pixar fanatic in the family, and Gary prefers action movies. The reviews were great though, and he enjoyed the other Toy Story movies, so he was determined to get in early on to see it.

He pre-purchased the tickets and excitedly texted me while I was out at an event. Making all these arrangements so we could meet up with one car near his work, he seemed excited for his evening of dinner and a movie. Being the huge Disney fan that I am, I was enthusiastic to share my favorite kind of movie with my guy.

The movie itself did not disappoint. It was extremely clever, well plotted, and poignant, all at the same time. I was so charmed and delighted at the dialogue by the characters, I did not want to miss a second. Still, every once in a while, I stole a glance and smiled at Gary so he would know how much I was enjoying myself. I appreciated his considering my enjoyment when arranging this evening.

At one point in the middle of the movie, when the plot really was at its peak, I was following more carefully and did not turn to Gary. I assumed he was as absorbed and was equally charmed.

Then all of a sudden, the familiar sound came: ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.

He had fallen asleep during the movie, and his snore both jolted me and woke him up. I elbowed him and admonished him to stay awake and pay attention because it was an adorable movie. And then it hit me: all of his pre-purchasing, and elaborate plans for a night out at the movies, the first in a long while, and he uses that opportunity to take one of his famous naps. It tickled me so much, that I got the giggles thinking about the sound of that ZZZZZZ coming from right next to me when I least expected it. I made his noise and giggled and giggled, taking a short pause from my movie watching.

I tried to concentrate back on the movie, not wanting to miss a second, but every once in a while, I got a teeny bit of the giggles again thinking of hearing that ZZZZ.

Why is it that men can fall asleep anywhere, anytime, and any place and I cannot? Is this a Mars and Venus thing? My dad can do this as well, as his father before him did it.

At any rate, go see Toy Story 4, especially if you are a kid at heart, like me. And it is recommended that you stay awake the entire time as well!