wanted: napping buddy for thunderstorms

baker doesn't understand why i would ever want to replace him as my napping buddy. something about having another person curled up with you when it's storming out is ultimately such a peaceful feeling. sometimes the chaos of my students' lives begins to seep into the edges of mine, and it becomes exhausting to try to keep myself apart, as if i have an emotional distance from them. even now, 500 miles away and a month before seeing them again, i wonder what they're doing, how they're doing, if they're eating enough, if they're making it, if they're still thriving. i find myself wishing that i could nap with abandon again, like the four year old self i vaguely remember... but we get older and cling to the illusion of control, fighting for independence and self, ignoring the desire to fling our arms open and embrace whatever may be out there. is that why we're less joyful than children? have we forgotten what it is to leap feet first, trusting that there will be arms to catch us before we drown?