Nocturnal Journeys

My mother often talked about her nocturnal journeys. As a child, I never fully realized what she meant by it. She sometimes talked about sleeping on a couch due to her insomnia and I imagine perhaps I envisioned her waking up and then promptly going back to sleep on the sofa.

Sigh. It's 2:27 am. After a half hour of lying awake in the bed, I got up at 2. I find that if I just lie there, awake, I am stiff and sore in the morning. It's easier if I get up and occupy myself until I can once again sleep. So. I drink a cup of "Calm" tea by Tazo. I might play Pyramids on the computer; the slowly drifting cards seem to soothe me. More challenging games like Spades or Scrabble make my mind sharp and more awake. I try to avoid them at night. I write. Or read. Pet the cat. Cats are great insomnia partners.

One night last weekI actually tried to sleep in every bed in the house. My travels looked something like this. My bed. Computer. Upstairs guest bed / book. Living room / journal. Computer / blog. Little One's bed, tried to cuddle. Couldn't get half the bed. Downstairs guest bed. Back to my bed. Just as I was drifting off, Little One called for me in the night. Back to Little One's bed.

Now that she is adolescent, she uses things like body spray and fruity hair products. I finally fell asleep breathing in the apple scent of her hair. It was sort of lovely.

Next morning, I was tired and faced four beds to make.

So, after being up a little more than an hour, I am still wide-awake but longing for sleep. I have a full day ahead of me tomorrow. Mother is long gone but I finally understand what she meant by nocturnal journeys. What an inheritance.