THE THREE THIRTY A.M. POST

Sometimes I fall asleep, but can’t stay asleep. I am usually grateful, if on any given night, I get four hours of uninterrupted sleep. Unfortunately, this is one of those nights when sleep has been a complete stranger even though I’m really tired.

Sometimes, I can’t fall asleep at all, but those times are rare… yet this is one of those times.

My allergies are so bad today, I’ve had a sore throat and a runny nose. My throat was nearly raw tonight when I got home, so I took a Benadryl at midnight… but I’m still awake. My eyes are strangely dilated as well, so I’m sitting here in the dark listening to music. TV after midnight is just scary and I’m all infomercialed out and I don’t want to fall asleep thinking about the ThighMaster (TM) or a George Foreman Grill.

Sometimes I can’t sleep because I have something on my mind, but I really don’t have anything on my mind except the fact I can’t fall asleep. Sometimes I have nightmares/flashbacks of things that have happened to me that I hardly can piece together when I’m awake. For some reason the time those images usually choose to reveal themselves is when I’m somewhere between sleep and non-sleep.

Sometimes I’m too hot to sleep, but not tonight. Other times, I’ve had too much caffeine during the day or have taken a medication that will keep me up, but that’s not the reason I can’t sleep.

Sometimes I wake up and someone pops into my head, so I pray for them. I figure there’s a reason I’m up, might as redeem the time, but nobody specific popped into my head this morning… but about an hour ago, I started praying and I believe I’ve covered just about everybody I know that’s going through something or nothing at all. Sometimes, after I do that, I fall asleep.

This isn’t one of those times.

I’ve tried meditating, but I’m so tired, I can’t concentrate enough to make it through to relief. I tried reciting my Grandpa’s, “Good Night Toes,” routine and made it all the way up to my hair, but alas, even my hair doesn’t feel the need to sleep right now.

I tried counting sheep, but they decided they’d rather do something more productive, so they went out to pasture to chew grass or whatever it is sheep do when they’re tired of being counted.

Jene’ and I always joke that if we’re both up like this we should just get up and play cards. I think, though, this is actually one of those nights Jene’s actually asleep. I hope she is. Most of her nights are like this and I personally can’t see how she functions, because I can tell you right now, when I don’t get sleep, simple tasks become Herculean and sometimes putting a complete sentence is nearly impossible.

It’s now 4 AM and I have an old Night Ranger song in my head.

Four in the morning came without a warning, everybody’s got a place to be…

I’m going to try to get some of those sheep to come back and try again…