Are you a Quickie or a Star?...

Just shut up your eyes, and fold your hands,

Your hands like the leaves of a rose,

And we will go sailing to those fair lands

That never an atlas shows. 

On the North and the West they are bounded by rest,

On the South and the East, by dreams;

'Tis the country ideal, where nothing is real,

But everything only seems.

(excerpt from the The Beautiful Land of Nod by Ella Wheeler Wilcox)

Sleep. It can mean so many different things to different people. For some, it's a Quickie. A four-five hour down time. Just enough shut eye that they can function the next day. For others, its a full encore production and they are the Star of their own show. Star sleep routines include all of the intricate parts of a dramatic play.

The Introduction - A pre-bed routine which can mean a warm cup of tea, a television show, or a snack.

The  Rising Climax - The main event. A warm bath with lavender, followed by the brushing of the teeth, the putting on of the pi's, the wearing of an eye mask or ear plugs... etc.    

The End, either happy or catastrophic - Was it restful or not?

I'm a Star. But regardless if you're a Quickie or a Star, one thing remains universal. Sleep is necessary. We must sleep to function. To stay sane. Balanced.

For the past several weeks I have never experienced such deep and restful sleep. I literally don't know when my head touches the pillow. I simply recall resting my head down, closing my eyes and awakening the next day as though I've been in a coma-induced sleep. As though someone literally turned Off my On switch. What makes this strange to me, is that this is new. Until now, I had classified myself as the world's worst sleeper.

As far as I can remember, I had issues sleeping. My poor parents always joke when they recall stories of just how horrible of a sleeper I was as a child. It began during infancy. My parents could not get me to sleep unless someone was rubbing my bottom. God forbid you stopped rubbing. Baby Marilyn was going to start wailing!

As a child, I vividly remember a baby sitter using fear tactics to get me to nap. She would say my dolls were going to come alive and attack me in my room if I opened up my eyes. So, little scared Marilyn would roll up into a ball in the center of the bed and shut my eyes really tight. So tight in fact, that they would hurt. But gosh darn it, those dolls weren't going to get me!

As a teenager, I continued to have issues sleeping. My routine would consist of constantly sneaking into my parents or my brother's bedroom and falling asleep on the floor next to them. I never wanted to be alone in the dark. My ears became extra sensitive at night and I would hear everything. Any creak, any crank, would vibrate through my ears and send emergency signals to my brain that I needed to wake up, yet again.

Now, as an adult, my sleeping affects my poor husband David. Hubby is a business owner by day. But by night, Oh by night! He miraculously transforms into a stealth navy seal. Quietly maneuvering through our house, careful not to make the slightest move that might wake me. On the rare occasion that he does,

Step 1-

Hubby: Thinking, "I forgot my book on the night stand." 

Quietly and gently sliding the door open, just enough to squeeze into the room.

Me: Sucking teeth loudly to make extra sure he hears me and grunting "uuuhhh, you woke me"

Step 2:

Hubby: "ssshhh, sorry"

Me: Tossing and turning for another two hours until I can fall asleep again. Finally fall asleep.

Step 3:

Hubby: Now in bed. Breathing heavily, possible sporadic light snores. 

Me: Brain signals, "Wake Up! Wake Up! Wake Up!" Pushing hubby to reposition him. Tossing and turning some more.

Repeat Step 3 several times during the evening until one rescinds and crashes with our little guy Daniel.

Not anymore! I want to shout at the top of my lungs to the world! "I Can Sleep! I Can Sleep! I Can Sleep!" I like being the Star in this new production. The ending is always happy. I always feel well rested and energized. I wake up in a good mood. Positive.

But what has changed suddenly? Has my body transformed itself? Is eating more organic produce and less sugar helping me sleep better at night? I don't have the scientific evidence to prove it, but my body knows it. I feel great. I don't hear my navy seal opening doors or tiptoeing through the house. I don't hear heavy breathing. I don't hear a thing other than the rumblings in my dreams.