Sleep

Sleep- noun- a condition of body and mind, such as that which typically recurs for several hours every night, in which the nervous system is inactive.
          verb- rest in such a condition; be asleep

I thought a lot about sleep these last few days, probably because my "gift of sleep" disappeared and I was tired and cranky all week.  The saying, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" is typically spoken in reference to something we desire or a love that is not present, but I felt that way about my sleep this week.

I thought about sleep when I saw the little baby in his car seat.  Even though his brother was screaming as he ran down the hallway ahead of us, the baby never stirred.

I thought about sleep when a mom uttered the fatal words: "You're taking a nap when you get home."  That was a cue for her three year-old to scream in defiance, "NO, I'M NOT!"  I laughed and couldn't help but think that someday she would wish for those naps, just like the rest of us do now.

I thought about sleep when I saw my co-worker sleeping in her car on her lunch break.  I have done the same thing on many occasions (an hour to sleep in the middle of the day, are you kidding me?  Who would pass that up?).  One day a few weeks ago, my boss saw me in the hallway and said, "You have no idea how hard it was for me to NOT honk my horn and try to scare you when I saw you sleeping."  Normally I want to harm anyone who dare disturbs my slumber, but if you knew my boss, you'd know it's completely out of character for her and for that reason it would have been funny.

I thought about sleep in my meeting last week, when I was trying desperately to not allow my eyes to close while we went over some ridiculously monotonous statistics.  I perked up when I saw a woman across the room starting the "head bob" as she too tried to stay awake.  Some people have nice co-workers who gently elbow them awake.  This girl had co-workers who draped seven other people's name tags over her head.

I thought about sleep when I walked in my room to find my dog asleep in his crate, stretched out on his back with his paws in the air while he snored.  God still has not blessed my family with a normal animal.

And tonight, I will set up camp on my futon.  I will have some popcorn and hot chocolate and put a chick-flick in the DVD player, intending to enjoy my extra night of freedom with a movie marathon.  This will inevitably end with me waking up about 1:00 a.m. after I realize that I"m listening to the same soundtrack music over and over again while the DVD idles on the main menu.  I will have missed approximately half the movie, including all of my favorite parts.

Well, I just noticed a spider building a web in the arm of my patio chair, so I need to go destroy the web before the spider kills anything and I have to watch a bug writhe around in the silk.  I allowed one spider to build a web in the corner of my patio, the least they can do is leave my chair alone.

Have a fantastic week everyone.  Take a minute (at least!) to observe the holiday, and join me in saying, "Beryl, Beryl, go away, head to sea with your skies so gray." Hey, if it's not going to hit us directly, I want nothing to do with it!