Insomnia

For us aging gym junkies there is nothing more frustrating than not being able to get a good night's sleep when you're trying to workout really early in the day. Except maybe getting behind Little Miss Speed Limit when you're in a big rush to get to the gym.

Up at 4:15 a.m. Exercise, get cleaned up and speed off to get to the job by 9:00 a.m. Work all day, get home, regroup, eat, and fall asleep. Correction: CRASH. It's 9:00 p.m. At least this time of year it's dark outside so I don't feel like such a wuss going to bed so early. But I can't help it. I'M TIRED. When I was a teenager and into my twenties staying up late was cool. I went out late and stayed out late and tried to stay up even later, sometimes all night, and it seemed I could get by the next day just fine on a just a few hours sleep. Speaking of staying up all night and having a good time: Wonder Woman went to Vegas and never came back.

Anyway, NOW: I think "I'm tired. I want to sleep. Blankets. Pillows. Peace." Earplugs: check. Cat: check. Glass of water: check. Alarms set: check. Down I go. Sweet.

Until 2:00 a.m. when I wake up. Then I realize that now it's 4:00 a.m. and I'm still awake. GAWD. And just so you know, that there should be no worries (at least for today), I've managed to solve all the world's problems in just a couple of hours. No thanks necessary, folks, it's my pleasure to help out. I've also remembered all the important details of my third grade teacher, Mrs. Polk, planned meals for the next 5 months, and designed my garden for next summer. Good to get all that stuff taken care of, I assure you. I was up all night on Friday but I did at least notice that Adam was not Becky, our usual spinning instructor on Saturday morning, which is a good sign.

Last night's insomnia attack was pretty bad. Second night in a row. I turned off the alarms. When I did fall back to sleep it was only long enough to wake up again and know I still had time to get to the pool for when it opens but decided not to. Sigh. Top off the frustration of not sleeping with a touch of guilt and you only get one thing: pasta for breakfast. I'm glad it's Sunday.

They say the only cure for insomnia is to get more sleep. If I go to bed at 7:00 tonight and wake up at 2:00 a.m. it will be WORSE because I'll have gotten enough sleep. I'll have to wait until 5:00 a.m. because the aliens have the Y at night. I'll get behind Little Miss Speed Limit, again. And I'll hope that the water is nice and cold so I wake up in time for work.