Last night while I was trying to convince George that it really WAS midnight, not 12:00 noon, and he was laughing at me and talking to me (in his cute little 4 month old way), I started thinking about how much sleep means to me. And I decided that it really means a lot to me. My history may not show that to the full extent that I now believe it, but I really do LOVE to sleep. My brothers will tell you that I woke up for quite some time in high school and practiced the violin at 4:30 in the morning. That may be true, but 5:00 is probably more realistic. I had to fit it in before swim team, which was before school. After school there was other stuff going on, but also more practicing, and definitely tons of homework. I look back with fondness on late night study sessions with Marilyn and others--often involving good food and other "study aids" such as our box of homemade puppets we kept in a cupboard nearby. It also involved sleep. Mar would ask a question, I would think of the answer and when I looked at her again, she would be asleep. And vice versa. Believe me, I know how many dreams a person can have in a 30 second time period! What were the puppets for? I am trying to remember. I think we figured that by talking through puppets we would seal the info into our minds forever. ;-) I'm not sure it worked, but hey, when you are that exhausted and loopy, you try any mneumonic device you can, including putting to a catchy tune all the bones in the body for a big bones test. So, last night I was thinking of all the years in my life when I didn't get enough sleep. I think that Dad was right when he prophesied that at some point it would all catch up to me. Now that I am an old married woman of 30, and I have spent the last 9 years pregnant or nursing or recovering, I think I agree with him. It is catching up to me NOW. It has caught me. But here's my big question. Can I get it back? I take heart when I remember the time my uncle came home from his mission. My dad said that he basically went into his room and slept for about a week. Just recovering, right? So I figure my babies usually nurse until they are about 18 months old. SO I'll hold out for another 14 months until no one NEEDS me and only me, and then I am going to disappear for a week's worth of straight sleep. I think I could handle it. To some that might sound like torture. To me it sounds like pure bliss. So James, prepare yourself for that moment in just a little over a year. I know I'll dream about it myself, or rather, reflect on it while I'm out of my bed and out of a possible dream-like state, rocking a beautiful bubbly baby who is sometimes just a little mixed up. :-)
Ohhhhh. Rach. How I can relate. I heard somewhere (I think?) that the only way to make up for a "sleep-debt" is to repay it hour for hour. Which means we need to sleep for more like a year, not a week, right? Sounds wonderful. [What were those puppets for anyway? I had forgotten them. I loved our study sessions, late as they were.] I had to give a talk last Sunday, and as I was preparing it I was thinking back on high school and remembering how TIRED I always was. (my talk was about becoming AWAKE, spiritually that is :)---because that is something I can so relate to. I always feel like I want to SLEEP!) I hope you got some good rest this weekend! Love you Rach---oh yes, and we have never agreed on the subject of pickles, have we. But luckily we have learned to be civilized about it . . .:)
ReplyDeleteI read this while sitting next to your sleeping mother who collapsed on the couch after church. She puts so much energy into everything when she's awake that sleep is truly a reprieve. I know that you are the same. I hope you don't have to wait that long to get some shut-eye but thanks for the pic to prove you do get a little now and then!
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