My eyes opened at 2 a.m. and a bit of motion and sound turned my head towards Caroline. A gray blur was descending from the darkness barreling towards Caroline's face. 2 a.m. is not the time for quick thinking and immediate action. By the time my brain had gathered the information necessary to form a coherent thought, let alone a reaction, Miracle had already crashed, got up and stumbled off into the night. At 2 a.m., events like this incur whispered death threats from the victim and bits of laughter from the witness, wisely quieted under my blankets.
In a house with two rambunctious felines, sleep must be grasped whenever possible. This, however, is not a problem solely within the confines of our apartment, few people get the sleep they require to make it through the day.
No explanations of anything are more interesting that the causes of insomnia. The humorous as per the case of our young felines who insist on running full-speed into walls and trouncing our faces if we offer the slightest twitch during a deep slumber, often intermingles with more serious concerns, those that worry, that fear, and that may even be afraid of what dreams may visit them during the night.
Or maybe it's just that sleep seems like a waste of time. Hours spent, eyes shut, body prone, wastefully idle. Sleep has become an enemy, a wastrel met with bitter scorn in a world where every minute awake is for one reason or another, vital.
Each night before I shut my eyes, I let my worries drift away. If there is ever an absence of positive thought, I can relax knowing that for the next 8 hours, I have nothing to fear, nothing to worry about. I will not hunger, I will not want, I will know that for however long I sleep, any crisis will have to wait until morning, and I prioritize my recovery and rest. For the next 8 hours, I will be unable to act upon my worries, so why worry at all?
Caroline takes this all a proper step further, and "de-dramatizes" her problems. When tired, molehills become mountains. A problem echoes in a dark, empty room. But no problem is so fierce that it cannot wait until morning, and problems are best tackled when your mind has had time to recuperate. Nothing is as bad as it seems, even at 2 a.m. And if you have a warm bed and a soft pillow, then life cannot be all that bad.
Tonight, though, the cats are getting locked out.
3 comments:
i thought the cats were the masters of your, er, their domain. it seems like cruel and unusual punishment to me.
glad to see caroline is getting some shut eye. is your insomnia a thing of the past? as for you, mr. travis, would i assume correctly that the title refers to you...and not sleeping beauty?
Ok... first of all... did you steal my sisters cat? It's freaky... either they are cousins or you stole him... It's frightening. Second of all, as a mental health professional your insomnia worries me (well it really doesn't but it sounds really cool when I call myself a mental health professional.) I digress, it's about good sleep hygiene (yes they call it that... and yes I giggled when they taught me). I'm guessing you 1) work/read/etc. in the same room you sleep in and/or 2) you watch tv/computer/video games prior to bedtime (all of which = poor sleep hygiene). Now correct all of these things and I will have proven myself as a mental health professional. Oh there I go again... I'm so professional. :-)
She's all grown up! *tear*
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