Still Evening… Or So I Thought

~ Nap Planned. Hibernation Achieved.
A simple rest turned into an unexpected system shutdown with no warning at all ~

There was a time when my holidays meant only one thing — recovering from exhaustion… not creating memories.

 

Recently, I wrote about how I sacrificed my sleep for a small outing with my daughter. But the truth is… this version of me didn’t exist before.

 

If I go back 10 years… I was working as a teacher. Even Saturdays were working days. School would get over by 3 PM, and most days, I would reach home around 4.

 

Tired was normal. Exhausted was routine. But one particular Saturday felt different. That day, no one was at home. I reached early — around 3:40 PM — changed into something comfortable, and without thinking much, I called my mom.

 

“I’m very tired… I’m going to sleep. I’ll call you later.” I put my phone on silent. No panic. No distractions.

 

My house in Chennai was small — a simple rented space on the 3rd floor. But it was neat, peaceful… mine. There was a small corridor on the side. Usually, I would open it only at evening for fresh air. I opened it. The summer breeze felt soft… calming.

 

I didn’t even lie down properly. Somewhere in my mind, I thought, “If I sleep properly, I’ll sleep too long.” So I lay down in a half-cross, uncomfortable position… as if I could control sleep by posture. And within minutes… I was gone.

 

What I thought would be a “short nap”… turned into something else entirely. When I woke up, I felt too fresh. Not just rested — fully reset. The light in the room looked the same. The air felt the same. So naturally, I assumed…

 

“Okay… maybe I slept for an hour.”

Still evening.

Still Saturday.

But something felt slightly off.

So I walked to the hall… looked at the clock…

And that’s when reality hit.

 

It was 11:20 AM. Sunday.

Not evening. Not the same day.

Next day.

 

That’s when I realized… I hadn’t taken a nap. I had gone into a full system shutdown mode. No background apps. No notifications. No interruptions. Just a complete, forced reset.

 

Back then, my life worked like a system that crashed from overload. It didn’t slow down gradually. It didn’t warn me. It just shut down… and rebooted only after complete exhaustion.

 

And now?

Now I wake up early on holidays. Now I step out. Now I choose moments over sleep. Not because I’m less tired…

But because somewhere along the way, my system upgraded from shutdown mode to active mode.

 

 

Maybe growth isn’t about doing more. Maybe it’s about changing how we recover.

From collapsing into long, unplanned shutdowns… to consciously choosing when to pause… and when to live.

Because once upon a time, I slept through an entire evening… And now, I stay awake… to live it.

 

💥 “Earlier, my system crashed and forced a shutdown…

now, it runs smarter — with fewer crashes and better moments.”

💤 ️I planned a power nap… my body scheduled a system shutdown.

🖋️ Until next line of code…