Yea right!
My mom tells me the story that when it was nap time that she would lay down and say that she needed me to keep her back warm. So I would snuggle up against her back and we would go to sleep. Mom says I was a GREAT napper.
I was never one to sleep really late in the mornings, probably because my mother would pretend to be playing revele if it got too late and she would want us to get up. BUT, I did sleep well and I would awake pretty much refreshed.
Then I got married. That was November 30, 1972. I married a return missionary who was still waking up early and saying crazy things like, "I feel great! I am ready for the day!" etc. It might not have been so bad if I hadn't worked swing shift and didn't get off work until 1215 a.m. Of course, I did ride the bus to work and so he was up until late to come to pick me up, but still!
He also snored, for 36 years until he stopped.
Then a year and a half after we got married I had a baby. In fact, I had babies in 1974, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1983, and 1985. You all know that when you have babies you don't sleep. By the time the last baby came along Robert was off on assignment 5-6 days a week until late, and we had a budding teenager who didn't drive yet but had to get places.
There were also callings at Church that needed attention which often was done early morning or late at night. Sewing, laundry, housecleaning, and even having fun sometimes.
Then the teenage years arrived in force. Dances which ended late, football and basketball games, friends coming over, going to friends houses. Slumber parties. Luckily I nipped that one in the bud early and limited the number.
Here's a story. One year it was Amanda's turn to have a slumber party for her birthday. I think it was her 12th birthday. We had a house full of pre-teen, hormonal girls. They stayed up ALL NIGHT. And so did I. They made noise and they argued, etc. etc. Amanda's birthday is close to Mother's Day. So after the girls finally all left Robert was taking me to the mall to find a dress which was our tradition at the time. We stopped to get gas and I crawled to the back of the van to lay down. I fell instantly asleep and probably had only been asleep for a minute or two when I woke up. I was totally freaked out because I didn't know where I was, I didn't know where Robert was, and I thought I had been abandoned or something. That's what happens to me when I stay up all night, I guess.
I also asked my mom what she did to get us around because she actually was awake all night during the week because she worked grave shift. She said she would take us places and then wait in the car and sleep. She also took books with her to read. So when the kids had appointments once I got them in and going. I went back out to the car and had told them to let me know when the dentist wanted me to come in and see the results. Instantly I was asleep and when the hygienist came out and got me I was also confused and it took me a minute to figure out what was going on.
Needless to say I didn't go sleep in the car anymore.
When seminary started (early morning seminary) we were up at 5 a.m. doing family scripture reading and breakfast. If you do the years you will see that I did that from 1988 to 2003. When I drove the kids I would walk around the church neighborhood and/or read in the car or sleep sometimes, but I was leary of it.
In 1992 I started a part time job. Or it may have been 1991. Anyway, that subtracted time from when I could do Church responsibilities and housework. Hence less sleep. Then I started working full time in 1995. What was I thinking? Every few months I would get home from work at 5, tell them all what they needed to do for dinner and crash. Robert was still gone alot and alot fell to my shoulders. Less Sleep.
When the kids were younger we had nap time on Sundays. It was heaven. We did have a few mishaps, like the time that Jared left the house when he was three years old on Sunday when we were all asleep. When we woke up we didn't know how long he was gone. Robert took off in the car and I stayed home with the girls and in case he came home. I kept hoping that since we lived on an Air Force Base that the APs wouldn't let a little boy leave the facility by himself. Then the phone rang and one of the sisters at church said that she had looked out her window and saw Jared. She told her son she thought that was the little Ottley boy. So they brought him in and Robert went to get him when he got home. Of course, he was still freaked out because he didn't know what had transpired.
As the kids got older they didn't want to nap but they still had quiet time or we spread out a blanket on the living room floor and Robert told them stories while I slept on the couch.
Next stage is young adults living in the home. They think that because they were off at school for a while that they don't have a curfew anymore. So they were leaving at 8 p.m. and getting home at 4 a.m. I tried to convince them that it was't a good idea and that even though they were "adults" that I still worried and I still couldn't sleep.
Now they have all been out of the house for quite a while. And they have started to reproduce. 15 now and 1 more on the way, plus four spouses. Adult problems are worse than child problems. At least it has been so for me. But adults lose jobs, have their family members have problems. So many nights I am awake at 2 a.m. worrying about jobs, schooling, homes, sicknesses, and sadnesses of 19 more people than I started out with. Somebody give me a pill!!!
Now I am getting old and I have aches and pains and restless leg syndrome and insomnia for no apparent reason. There is also Facebook and this Blog which tend to keep me up. At least I retired in February and if I absolutely need to I can at least lie down in the middle of the day. But whomever thought that retirement meant having nothing to do but sit on the beach and nap never retired!
This hasn't been the best description of my lack of sleep. And I know I have left out lots of activities that keep me awake.
1 comment:
I hear you!!!
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