The Sleeping Debacle

Sleeping is not my strong suit. Let me rephrase that. Falling asleep is not my strong suit. Once I'm asleep I'm golden. I'll fall into the deepest depths of sleep, so much so that a train could drive through the walls of my apartment right by my face, blare its train whistle, and I wouldn't even be phased.

But falling asleep, not the easiest for me. It takes, at the very least, 30 minutes for me to fall asleep. For the first 15 my mind races and as much as I try to shut my eyes, they pop open and I stare at the dark grey color of my ceiling wishing I could just drift to sleep. The last 15 are a bit fuzzier. My eyelids feel a little heavy, its easier to keep my eyes closed, and my spinning mind slows just enough for me to conk out at minute 30.

Unfortunately, if I watch an exciting show, or one that was particularly dramatic (cough...the bachelorette...cough), or if I have a caffeine full (read: DDP) soda at dinner time, it takes a couple hours to fall asleep.

I didn't realize I was such a high maintenance until recently, and as I looked back on my childhood, a lot of the puzzle pieces fell neatly into place. At a young age I struggled with slumber parties. I loved the activities and the excitement of the party, staying up late, laughing, chatting, snuggling in a sleeping bag on the living room floor; but when the clock struck a late hour and everyone drifted to sleep, I laid awake. My mind wouldn't turn off. I felt alone and scared, and the more I wished myself to sleep the more I couldn't sleep. I ended up in tears, and my parents ended up driving to (insert name of friend here)'s house and picking me up. Bless those friends parents for being so understanding. I just didn't (and don't) get tired at night.

I would classify myself as a Night Owl and Champion Sleeper-Inner (very technical term). And since I only feel tired from 2:00pm-4:30pm, I'm a pretty awesome napper, which always leads to late nights.

Last weekend was a busy one for us, and Grace and I have fallen into bad habits of unintentional late nights and late, late, mornings. She and I were cut from the same cloth, sister friend knows how to sleep in, and I totally dig that. But now, just like last night, its 1:45am and I'm wide awake...and therefore blogging.

I know what I need to do. It involves an alarm clock, a serious amount of will-power, and waking a sleeping baby. But maybe out of sheer inner force I can get her back on track, and therefore start going to bed before midnight.

Keep your fingers crossed for a sister who needs to sleep.