Sleepless In The Boondocks

I hope you all will forgive my absence this last month. For some reason I just haven't been feeling great. I thought about it a bit and I realized that I had somehow managed to slack off on my healthy eating habits. It would seem that there really is something to those V8 ads. If you want to stay reasonably healthy, don't skimp on your veggies!

Wednesday, Nathan and Lindsay had their very first experience at a day care provider. At 11 and nearly 10 years of age, it was a rather strange experience for Pa and me. A whole afternoon without the happy chatter of our children every where we went. Although it was kinda nice in a way, it also felt very strange, almost wrong. It's been a long time! The nicest part of the whole thing was being able to shop for those items that will be a big surprise for our children come the 25th together, rather than taking turns ushering the kids in one direction while the other of us adds items to a basket to be left around a corner to be inspected by the other parent when we switch roles . That really was a nice, even fun change for us!

Yesterday morning, Nathan woke up with a sore throat and a tummy ache. While Pa and I were busy trying to keep him comfortable, Lindsay was doing what she always does when her brother gets sick. She was worrying. By the time bedtime arrived she had worried herself just about to the point of being sick herself. Everything about her said she was about to burst into tears. There was only one thing I could think of to help her calm down, and hopefully get some sleep.

Last night, we pulled out the hide-a-bed, brought out some blankets and pillows and Lindsay and I camped out in the living room together. While she was still concerned about her brother, it did seem to divert her attention enough to cheer her up a bit. I was hopeful we would both manage a good nights sleep. Silly me.

I will give her credit for warning me that she was a bit of a restless sleeper. She said I may be awakened at some point by her knee jabbing me. I'm happy to report that was not an issue. However... it was not a good sleep night! I discovered rather quickly that I am just plain too old for sleepovers with an almost 10 year old! She tossed and she turned. Then she tossed and she turned some more. The whole bed was shaking for a good hour. At one point I was just sure she was doing jumping jacks on the bed. A quick glance in her direction told me that was not the case. I asked her if there was a problem. She responded in the negative, saying she was just having a hard time getting to sleep. I suggested she might try laying still and closing her eyes.

An hour later the bed was still moving about, being none to gently rocked by my daughter. When questioned this time she responded by saying she was hot. Okay. I removed the top cover. Oddly enough, that didn't stop the rocking bed.

"Lindsay! Lay still!"

"Okay"
5 minutes of quiet, then...

"I know why it's called the midnight!"

"Huh?" Okay...why is it called midnight?"

"Because it's the middle of the night!"

"Hmmm! I guess that makes sense! Since it is now after midnight, do you suppose we could go to sleep now?

"Okay!"

5 minutes later I hear my daughter's voice once again, "I know why it's called high noon!"

"What?!!? *sigh* Alright, why is it called high noon?"

"Because the sun is high in the sky!"

"Ah! I see! Thank you for letting me know. Goodnight"

"Goodnight!"

Maybe 5 minutes later she pipes up again, "Maybe I should think of these things during the day"

"Huh! Now there's an idea! Can we please go to sleep now?"

"Okay!"

I then lay there for at least an hour being rocked by the tossing and the turning. I'd given up on trying to get her to lay still. I figured that only encouraged her to talk. At some point I realized the bed was no longer rocking. I turned over and glanced at my daughter, sleeping soundly beside me.

This morning, shortly after 6AM, I awoke, opening my eyes to see Lindsay, propped up on her elbows, gazing down at me. It only took a second for me to realize there was no point in trying to convince her to go back to sleep. I asked her to go turn the coffee maker on while I got the fire going in the wood stove. I figure I might have gotten 3 hours of sleep last night, although I sure wouldn't bet money on it!

Fortunately, Nathan is feeling better today. I'm rather looking forward to sleeping in my own bed again tonight. I'm thinking I could even manage to sleep through Pa's snoring!