A confession from between the sheets...(UPDATED)
This post is updated, now with added irony, below.
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That I've gotten your attention with that title...
In my opinion, based on numerous sleep overs as a kid and the past almost 15 years of sharing a queen with another person, there are two kinds of sleepers in the world. People usually fall in one of these two categories, and some are a combination of the two. There are the "Dead-to-the-World Sleepers" and "the Thrashing Cover-Stealers."
My husband is a DTTW sleeper. There are many nights that I gaze upon him in amazement at how quickly he can go from alert and talking to sawing logs. It is truly a gift and one for which I am very envious.
I have to admit here, that I'm a Thrasher. I can't help it. It is in my genes. There were times as a kid that I'd pass by my parents room and witness my father doing what only could resemble an rare African ritual dance all while lying face down completely asleep. It never failed to make my chin hit the floor and I'd sit there for a few minutes just watching the show.
Actually, my parents rarely slept in the same bed because of this fact. I know that sounds terrible, but I really couldn't blame my mom. Aside from the acrobatic thrashing, my father snores heinously and must have the TV blaring to go to sleep. How could ANYONE sleep in the same bed with that, I ask you? My mother was a night owl and my father was an early riser. The two just could not get their sleeping habits to work together and still haven't to this day.
The past week, my poor husband has been very sick. We are, of course, a few days from our new insurance kicking in, so he's been unable to go to the doctor and hacking up a lung most nights. Because of the congestion, he's started sleeping in our leather chair where he can be elevated. This leaves me, coming off of several very bad weeks of insomnia, with a great big, fairly new pillow-top queen to myself.
And, I'm loving every minute of it, my friends.
I have slept better the past week, than I have in probably six months. I don't wake up at all, which is really out of character for me. And, last night, rather than just allow a leg or an arm to make its way onto his side of the bed, I daringly took center stage and did a full spread eagle, falling asleep that way. My hands were spread out to the side so that I could almost touch each side of the bed with its respective hand. I looked as if I were in mid-jumping jack. I'm certain that I probably slept with my mouth open as well, because it was a full-on awesome REM moment.
It was truly heavenly.
I'll admit, and this sounds awful because I dearly love my husband and want him to get well more than anything, it is going to be hard to go back to our sleeping arrangements when he is well. But, I really hope I can go back to co-sleeping. You see, another thing about me that is kind of odd for a girl I suppose is that I'm not a cuddler. When it is time to sleep, I'm all business. I need to be in the right position and have a certain level of comfort. Years of insomnia have forced this upon me. But, ironically, I recently had a conversation with my sister who admitted she is the same way. Thrasher genes strike again, I suppose.
The past week, while my husband has suffered through this awful cold/bug, I have had more energy than ever because I have been queen of the queen--a master of my pillow topped universe. Yet, it is all so bittersweet. I know in a few days he'll be well and I will have to return to my right-sided sleeping life. (And he, truthfully, will have to return to putting with with a wife who never sleeps still and is known to hog the comforter in the wee hours.) Alas, the whole situation is like giving a dog a massively meaty bone and then ripping it from his teeth just as he starts to taste it. Sigh. Life is not fair sometimes, is it?
---
Little did I know that my husband, who has been too sick to bother reading my silly blog, would approach me tonight and ask if he could take the comfy bed. The bone is gone, my friends...that is, unless I can find it under a couch cushion tonight when I try to sleep. HA!
------------------
That I've gotten your attention with that title...
In my opinion, based on numerous sleep overs as a kid and the past almost 15 years of sharing a queen with another person, there are two kinds of sleepers in the world. People usually fall in one of these two categories, and some are a combination of the two. There are the "Dead-to-the-World Sleepers" and "the Thrashing Cover-Stealers."
My husband is a DTTW sleeper. There are many nights that I gaze upon him in amazement at how quickly he can go from alert and talking to sawing logs. It is truly a gift and one for which I am very envious.
I have to admit here, that I'm a Thrasher. I can't help it. It is in my genes. There were times as a kid that I'd pass by my parents room and witness my father doing what only could resemble an rare African ritual dance all while lying face down completely asleep. It never failed to make my chin hit the floor and I'd sit there for a few minutes just watching the show.
Actually, my parents rarely slept in the same bed because of this fact. I know that sounds terrible, but I really couldn't blame my mom. Aside from the acrobatic thrashing, my father snores heinously and must have the TV blaring to go to sleep. How could ANYONE sleep in the same bed with that, I ask you? My mother was a night owl and my father was an early riser. The two just could not get their sleeping habits to work together and still haven't to this day.
The past week, my poor husband has been very sick. We are, of course, a few days from our new insurance kicking in, so he's been unable to go to the doctor and hacking up a lung most nights. Because of the congestion, he's started sleeping in our leather chair where he can be elevated. This leaves me, coming off of several very bad weeks of insomnia, with a great big, fairly new pillow-top queen to myself.
And, I'm loving every minute of it, my friends.
I have slept better the past week, than I have in probably six months. I don't wake up at all, which is really out of character for me. And, last night, rather than just allow a leg or an arm to make its way onto his side of the bed, I daringly took center stage and did a full spread eagle, falling asleep that way. My hands were spread out to the side so that I could almost touch each side of the bed with its respective hand. I looked as if I were in mid-jumping jack. I'm certain that I probably slept with my mouth open as well, because it was a full-on awesome REM moment.
It was truly heavenly.
I'll admit, and this sounds awful because I dearly love my husband and want him to get well more than anything, it is going to be hard to go back to our sleeping arrangements when he is well. But, I really hope I can go back to co-sleeping. You see, another thing about me that is kind of odd for a girl I suppose is that I'm not a cuddler. When it is time to sleep, I'm all business. I need to be in the right position and have a certain level of comfort. Years of insomnia have forced this upon me. But, ironically, I recently had a conversation with my sister who admitted she is the same way. Thrasher genes strike again, I suppose.
The past week, while my husband has suffered through this awful cold/bug, I have had more energy than ever because I have been queen of the queen--a master of my pillow topped universe. Yet, it is all so bittersweet. I know in a few days he'll be well and I will have to return to my right-sided sleeping life. (And he, truthfully, will have to return to putting with with a wife who never sleeps still and is known to hog the comforter in the wee hours.) Alas, the whole situation is like giving a dog a massively meaty bone and then ripping it from his teeth just as he starts to taste it. Sigh. Life is not fair sometimes, is it?
---
Little did I know that my husband, who has been too sick to bother reading my silly blog, would approach me tonight and ask if he could take the comfy bed. The bone is gone, my friends...that is, unless I can find it under a couch cushion tonight when I try to sleep. HA!
posted by Crazy MomCat @ 10:08 AM
6 Comments:
I am not a cuddler either. Since my neck and back have been at odds with me for many years, I must arrange the pillows *just so* and this does not allow for cuddling. Sweetheart was a snorer until he got a c-pap for his sleep apnea. We never spent a night together without it, and I find now that the noise it makes is now part of my sleep routine. When we go on vacation and he takes the travel version, I get confused at bedtime because it doesn't sound the same. Weird sleeping quirks are fun.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Glad to know that someone else has "been there," Sophie!
Oh my God, I completely understand! I'm the Thrasher and Colby is most DEFINITELY the DTTW sleeper. I'm also not big on the cuddling--I just get so hot. For some reason we turn into absolute space heaters under the covers!
However, with Colby's job I get plenty of nights with the whole bed to himself and while I love having all the space, it's always good to have him back :)
I'm a very light sleeper, so I also like having the bed to myself sometimes. I've read articles that say it's fine for married couples to have separate beds if they can't co-sleep well. While they're awake, they can share a bed. But when it's time to sleep, they can split up. Why not if it means you'll get better sleep and have more energy?
I've also noticed that when we go to hotels and sleep in king beds, it's like having separate beds. You can roll over three or four times without ever running into your spouse.
Happy Mother's Day!
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