In the Still of the Night...

Photo from Pinterest

After more than two hours, I now realize that sleep isn’t going to come easily.  I was yawning and sleepy as I walked into the bedroom but, as soon as my head hit the pillow, my mind went into overdrive.

Thoughts about my family.  Detailed plans for remodeling homes I used to live in.  Even more detailed plans for decorating/improving our current home.  Thinking about going to sleep and wondering how long until I succumbed to slumber….

For naught.  It is now two in the morning.  The still of the night.  The noise from the freeway some six blocks away has subsided.  The quiet hasn’t been pierced by sirens yet tonight.  Or the helicopter which flies over our house on its way to the heliport at the hospital.  Or dogs barking. 

Even the birds seem to have gone to sleep for the night.  But not me….

There was a time when I would have been stressed by the inability to fall asleep.  And that stress kept me awake, too.  I had small children, or I had to be at work at the crack of dawn.  There was always a reason why sleep was mandatory during the night hours.  Or the day hours, when I worked night shift.

Life has gotten so much better in that regard.  We have plans for early tomorrow morning: put some things in the attic and get down all the portable fans.  We want to do it before the heat builds up in the attic, and it is supposed to be 100+ degrees Fahrenheit tomorrow.

No problem.  I can always take a nap.  Or two naps, if I choose.  There is little urgency in my life now, and I like that.  I worked in a very stressful profession and spent my time being where others expected me to be, with very little time for myself.

Of course, I am not unique.  We all have stressors.  And nights when we cannot sleep.  What is different for me now is that 1) the stressors are mostly self-imposed; and 2) sleeping at night is not mandatory.  I like that, too. 

Right now, I’m thinking about going outside and looking at the stars.  Or doing a Sudoku puzzle.  Or working on my scrapbooking.  Or reading….

Whatever I decide to do will not negatively impact my day today.

And I really like that…