That Chimerical Land of Nod

“O sleep, O gentle sleep, Nature's soft nurse, how have I frightened thee. That thou no more will weigh my eyelids down, And steep my senses in forgetfulness?”
― William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 2 

 Well gosh, there’s just not a whole lot that beats waking in the middle of the night with a full blown panic goin’ on. Amiright?

• Did I mail that bill? *muddling concern*  (no but that’s OK—it’s not due yet)
• What did that letter from Blue Cross mean? Do I have to change Primary Care Providers? If so, is this the end of the world as I know it?  *panic* (unlikely)
• Did I give The Amazing Bob his nighttime pills? *alarm*  (Yes)
• That bill I just got from MGH—it’s big. Why did I get that? *hysteria*  Shouldn’t it have gone to my insurance company? Why didn’t it? Maybe they didn’t know that my insurance provider just changed and I won't have to pay this? (Emmmm, gee. Could be.)
• Do I need to buy that expensive laptop for work? *frenzy* (Do I really need to make that decision at 2 AM?)
• Is the heat on or am I having a hot flash? *annoyance* (flash)
• Did I eat too much yesterday? *guilt ridden dread* I’ve not been keeping my food diary consistently over the  past week. This surely means that I’ve gained 500 pounds except...except I don’t think I’ve gone off my diet. Hmmm.
• Why am I feeling all jittery? *agitato con brio* Must start deep breathing exercises STAT.

And I did. 

Nota bene: Deep breathing exercises don’t work when every molecule of your being is tensed to the max. With muscles clenched so tight they could pass for iridium, relaxation, much less sleep, is so far off I would have needed the Hubble telescope to find it.

So yeah, I gave up, came downstairs, paid bills, cleaned, made lists of what I need to do on Monday in order to get my insurance sorted. Then I played my online word games, looked up vine imagery for my kitchen wall painting project (I'm thinking William Morris by way of Van Gogh) and otherwise piddled around on Facebook.

Gotta say, coming downstairs, after finally being able to grab some shuteye, to a clean house, dishes done and notes made as to what I've got to do over the next couple of days is pretty cool. It's as though magical brownies have moved in. Sadly, I'm the only brùnaidh in da houz.

Too bad I can’t go for a good long trike ride on these sleep-free nights. Why not? I don’t have fab night vision so it’s just NOT a smart idea. Also too, the monsters come out at night or, at least, that’s what the Captain tells me.