As you all know . . . I LIKE TO SLEEP ! . . . For as long as I can remember I have liked to sleep. As a kid I know my room was my castle and my bed was my safe haven, my serenity cave, my security blanket. Now I realize all this leads you to put on your Freudian scowl, stroke your chin and mutter "HUMMMMMMMMMM". Yes, yes I get it, I was hiding from the world and still am when I crawl into my bed and close my eyes. But there is a lot more to it. (And don't try to tell me you don't cower under the covers at times just trying to make the world go away.) There is something about the ritual of sleep that is like washing the chalk board and starting on a fresh new surface. That's part of what sleep does. And for me the idea of "starting over" each day is acknowledged as well as much appreciated.
But there is a ritual as well as an art to all this. You can't just stand up from the couch, drag yourself into the bedroom, toss clothes on the floor and flop into the bed. UGH ! That is disgusting !!! Because I enjoy sleep so very much my BED is sacred ground. My ideal sleeping experience would involve a room of my own with a king size bed and about 6 pillows all covered in satin. The sheets have been hung out doors so they smell of fresh air. Color and sound are not factors because if you are sleeping your eyes are shut and I am usually not aware of sound unless someone points it out to me prior to going to sleep. (Husbands are wonderful for this . . . "Do you hear that drip? ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz" as I lay there listening to the drip and he is sound asleep.) So now we have our bed all set, ready and waiting. I now HAVE to shower before I can climb into my bed. I CAN NOT GO TO BED DIRTY! That is like the major, #1 rule in my sleep book. I can't bring the "dirt" of the world into my bed. And that includes any TV news station. I don't like to watch TV in bed but will on occasion turn on a movie or watch the end of some show but NEVER NEVER NEVER is the news allowed in the bedroom. But before I can settle into my cocoon I have to slather on lotions and creams, brush my teeth, take my meds, find my glasses and my book, arrange all the pillows, check the AC to make sure the temperature in the house is best for sleeping, turn on (or off) the ceiling fan, get a tissue, have a glass of water handy, check to see if all the doors are locked, turn off the computer, and then I can climb into bed. It is usually after 11 by the time this ridiculous ritual is concluded but now I get to snuggle and read. The day falls away, I stop thinking about all that I didn't get done and all I have yet to do when I get up the next day and the chalk board is washed clean so I can say my prayers and drift off to sleep to dream all sorts of wonderful crazy things. My dreams are so vivid and entertaining I usually have trouble getting up in the morning because I don't want to leave them. But I know that after a crazy day of living I can start all over again and look forward to a night of blissful rest. Not that I don't appreciate life but I DO love my sleep!
You're making me tired just thinking about sleeping! :) Your son has convinced me that sleep trumps everything. And I mean everything. I have finally seen the light!
ReplyDeleteSleep? Why does it elude me? Here it is 6:30 a.m. on a rainy Saturday morning and I am wide-awake and ready to get up. The house is dark, my family is sound asleep, and there is NO chance that the “subfinder” system will be calling me to work today. Just roll over and go back to sleep, you say. Easier said than done, I say. I guess I met my sleep quota last night. True, I didn’t wake up at 2:00 a.m. and lie awake for hours, as often happens. Certainly that is more frustrating. Once I am awake, I revisit the past and start thinking about the future: what I should’ve said or done, or what I still must do. My mind becomes so active; it won’t let me go back to that wonderful escape from reality. Finally, knowing that further sleep is out of the question, I get up and head (where else?) to my computer. I turn it on, and it never complains about being awakened too early. It keeps me company until the rest of my world wakes up.
ReplyDeleteAmazing how some folks are night owls, and some like me are early-birds. I think we are just born that way. I envy those who can stay up at night. Yet, I wouldn’t want to trade in my quiet morning time, just to stay up for another hour at night. Somehow, I’ll manage a “power-nap” this afternoon to help me make it to tonight. It’s not that I don’t like to sleep. For me, sleep is just a necessary routine - to recharge my internal battery.
Soon the sun will rise (although it won’t win the war with the rain clouds today) and all will emerge from their cocoons.
Rise and shine and give God your glory, children of the world!