Pajama Parties At Jesus' House

"You must have nice pjs if you wore them to Mass!"

- Sister Marcille

Taking my sleep seriously...of course.

    The older I get, the sleepier I get, and the more I love sleeping and being all snug and warm in my bed. Every chance I get, I am asleep in my bed and I even plan out a nap time for each day. And if I don't get a nap, I sure as the sun shines better get some coffee in my system. I will openly admit that when I don't get enough sleep, I can be a real grouch. Before college, I used to be able to stay up until at least 2, if not later, and still get up early, with only a few hours of sleep in my body and fully function properly. Now, I go to bed before even some of the nuns. That's a true fact. I've been working on really getting enough sleep so my body can work.  These week, however, I'm slackin' really hard. It's been a long trip on the struggle bus.

     This morning, I overslept way past my alarm. My nice little wake up warning goes off at six, then again a six fifteen, then again at six thirty and finally at six forty-five. I have recently realized that in order to maximize my sleep, I can literally shower and get ready in fifteen minutes and make it to prayers on time! Today....I got up at 7:18. Prayers begin at 7:10; Mass at 7:30. I had twelve minutes to get ready for Mass. Not that you really need to know, but I usually fall asleep in what normal college kids wear to class: sweats and t-shits and hoodies. If I didn't have any dignity, I would have strolled right over to Mass in my full set of pjs. However, I couldn't allow myself that embarrassment and put jeans on instead. Everything else I was wearing was what I slept in. I brushed my teeth and ran out the door. I made it to Mass two minutes beforehand.

     The sisters who sit in my pew and the surrounding pews are what I call my pew partners. I share my pew with Sister Cathy and a pole. So, there is really only way into the pew since we are blockaded in. I casually tapped her on the shoulder and she let me slide into our pew without highlighting my shame. However, we did laugh a little. How could you not? It was obvious, I was still on the struggle bus. I could barely keep my eyes open and I took my time standing up and sitting down. I felt like such a sloth or snail or turtle. 

     During the sign of peace, I was shaking my pew partners' hands and finally made it to Sister Elaine. As she shook my head she asked, "So, what time did you go to bed last night?" You see, our school play is this upcoming weekend (if you are close by, feel free to stop in!) and we had play practice last night. She had been there snapping shots for the bulletin board so she knew I was helping out with stage crew. I simply smiled and said, "I'm not telling you," and walked away. She shook her head, knowing that it must have been late. 

      It was later in the day, while I was simply sitting and chatting with my friends at the lunch table when from behind me, I saw a figure dressed in blue and white. Sister Elaine sat down next to me and all she said after she took her first bite of chili (we had the same lunch...twinning!) was "so really, what time?" I laughed and told her what happened. Practice let out about 11:30 and I finally got to bed around 1:30. "So that's why you strolled in really late in your pjs?!" Yep, exactly.

      After practice finished tonight (a little after midnight), I was talking with our theater director, Sister Marcille, about my morning. I simply casually mentioned strolling in wearing pjs and thought nothing of it. Half way through the story, she goes, "Wait. You must have some pretty nice pjs." After laughing, I told her it was actually socially acceptable by most of my pew partners. Ironically, they all just laugh at me. I can imagine them remembering their younger days when they wished they could come to Mass in their pajamas. Essentially, I do that. And here's my philosophy:

      I'm not there to impress anyone by what I'm wearing. Jesus is with me all the time and so He knows what I look like in my pajamas. As long as I am decently covered, I see no issue in having a morning pajama party at Jesus' house. So, I mentioned this to Sister Marcille and she agreed. She actually agreed that on Hurricane or Snow days, when no one is going anywhere, and no one is visiting during Mass (except me and trust me, I've been on enough discernment retreats to know that nuns wear pajamas....SHOCKER, I know), and no one is trying to impress anyone, we should all just wear pajamas. And so, maybe they should all invest in some nice, comfy yoga pants, some plain t-shirts, and bright yellow sweatshirts, and join me at the morning pajama parties at Jesus' house. There's one tomorrow morning....let's just hope I don't sleep past the alarm again!