Things That Go Bump in the Night (Me)

I used to be a very light sleeper, until I had my children.  I don’t know if it is the busy-ness of my days or sod’s law (that the less the kids let you sleep, the more you want to), but now I can sleep as soon as my head hits the pillow and through crying babies and kids that have decided to sneak out of bed.  My daughter once slept in my bed when hubby was away and commented that she couldn't believe I just lay my head down and fell straight asleep.

Recently I've started going to bed a bit earlier and I find myself waking up in the night every few hours.  Most people would hate this.  I have friends and colleagues who complain about insomnia and struggling to get up the next morning and often being late for work (Whatsapping people until 2am in the morning contributes to the problem, but no-one wants to admit that).

I actually like being awake in the night.  I love to be awake when everyone is asleep.  But what is there to do when you are awake at 2am, then 4 am and then 5.15am?  This is what I like to do:

1.    Let my mind wander.  I am a born day-dreamer.  I love to let my brain take me into meadows and woods with rivers, to parties and important meetings where I rule and to lecture halls where I rock at the lectern.  Over the years, I have realised that day-dreaming is not just a waste of time, but creates a rich inner life full of meaning and means you can never be bored in your own company.  It has also taught me that behind the stories and scenarios that your brain throws up, there are glimpses into your hearts desires and what you really, really want in life but sometimes don’t have the nerve to admit.

2.    Play with Pinterest on my phone.  I am a bit of a fan.  I love the access this website gives us to the wealth of design, ideas and eye-candy that wasn't so easy to find before.  I like how you can follow one pin to another, finding the perfect clutch which leads you to your dream emerald earrings from a designer you have never heard of before which leads you to the pinners home page where you find the hand bag of your dreams.  Like scrapbooking without the mess, or daydreaming on the computer screen.

3.    Check on the Kids.  Every time I wake up, I wonder if the kids have their covers over them.  I don’t always get up, but when I do its always Gorgeous and darling who have their feet hanging off the bed and the covers off (or in Darlings case her bum in the air and her face buried in her pillow).  Is there a point when mums stop doing this?  Like before their kids are adult and leave home?

4.    Read rubbish on my phone.  The kind of junk I refrain from during the daytime because it is a waste of time, unproductive and probably because I don’t want people to see what I am reading.  Like fashion websites, celebrity news or movie spoilers.  Sad, but my little secret guilty fix.  Plus I don’t have to worry I'm ignoring the kids or hubby because I have my face in a little screen.

5.    Check my blog on my phone.  There is no reason this can’t wait until the morning.  But I still get so psyched when someone leaves a comment or the stats show how many people visited and where from.  Last month there were 1643 visits from people in China and I always wonder how Ukraine makes the top ten countries for visitors to my blog every time.

6.    Annoy my husband.  Every now and again he snores and if he does it sets me on edge, so we play the poking game (not what you think, thank you).  I elbow him he stops snoring.  He starts again, I poke him, he stops, I almost fall asleep and he jars me awake again.  I try to nudge him so that he shifts and is breathing easier and usually this works.  I am amazed at this man's patience, he has never complained about the poking and elbowing, or maybe he’s not quite awake enough for it to register properly.

Thankfully, so far my night-time musings and brain-wanderings aren't leaving me too tired to function during the day.  If that starts happening I’ll have to put the phone under hubby’s pillow and start thinking about work in the morning; that will put me back to sleep.