Here is a picture of a little room in the back of our office. It’s ideal for meetings or finding some peace and quiet from the open concept office to do some proofreading.

This little room is small and cozy and well used

But you know what we use it for most?

Napping.

That’s right. Stephen is like an infant. He gets tired easily and needs to nap. Every day after lunch at his desk, it’s like clockwork: He says good night, retreats to the back room, shuts the door, and we don’t see him for 20-30 minutes. When he finally surfaces, it’s mildly amusing. He opens the door, his hair sticking up all over, and stands there with squinty eyes while they adjust to the light. He usually says one of three statements: “Good morning,” or “Wow, that was a great sleep!” or “How long was I out for?”

Once in awhile Ben comments, “You were snoring pretty loudly today.”

Steve is always proud of this.

I can’t poke too much fun at Steve for his incessant napping, because I occasionally indulge in the nap room myself. It’s a dark room with a comfortable couch and fuzzy blankets. The first time I tested it out, it was a Saturday and I thought I would just lay down for 20 minutes or so to get a second wind. Two hours later I awoke with a jolt, unsure where I was. It was a lesson well-learned. Now when I retreat to the nap room for a siesta, I set an alarm. I will say that when I’m tired and take a 20 minute power nap, my afternoon is much more productive.

Other cultures fully endorse napping (the Chinese and the Spanish, for example), so why can’t we adopt it at WamBam? After all, experts claim that it’s very healthy.

Trying to bring this back to do-it-yourself fence that’s fun to install is going to be difficult. Maybe I’ll go to the back room and sleep on it.