Dream a little dream: I just want some sleep

A lack of sleep can make you say and do the strangest things.

A lack of sleep can make you say and do the strangest things.  (Wait a minute, didn’t I just say that???)

Looking back on the first years of our marriage, my wife and I laugh at how we would whimper out of bed at 9:30 in the morning.  “Good Lord!  It’s early, too early!   The rooster is still asleep, isn’t he?”

But then somewhere, the decision was made to have kids, and sleeping in late meant that there’s a chance you might actually arise after the sun showers us with a soft warm glow.  Now, with a nine-month old baby who still hasn’t figured out how to sleep through the night, a good night’s rest is at a premium.

As it turns out, we are not alone.  A recent Center for Disease Control report illustrates that more than eleven percent of respondents say they didn’t have a single day where they felt they got enough sleep.  (Sorry girls, but women get less sleep than men.)

Then the researchers brought up the really good news.  A lack of sleep leads to mental and physical health problems including obesity, depression, anxiety, and diabetes.  One way to avoid that risk, doctors say, is by getting at least seven to nine hours of sleep a night.

I’d have a better chance of having a picnic on the moon.  

Personally, there have been some valued lessons for me in this period of forced insomnia:

1. I’ve watched so many “infomercials,” I know how to be fit, cleanse my skin, and cut a shoe with a steak knife for just $19.95.
2. It is possible to catch a power nap at a red light.
3. A sea of coffee doesn’t make me jittery, it’s just that I feel I need to carry around my own personal urinal because my kidneys are working overtime.
4. My ability to hold my own in a debate continues to falter. “That’s stupid!  “No, YOU shut up!”  “I know you are, but what am I???”

My mother reminds me that there will be a time when I will look back on this period of my life longingly.  For now, I’m considering taking a job at a mattress store, because I hear the benefits are amazing. 

Good night.