Saturday, May 24, 2014

All I Want Is a Good Night's Sleep

I've moved through the house like a zombie since I got out of bed this morning. Lack of sleep has rendered me so sluggish and dull-witted that I'd be hard-pressed to carry on an intelligent conversation--yet here I am, trying to write a coherent blog post. We'll see how that works out.

There were guests in my bedroom last night. Kim's away from home this weekend, so Lucy and Oliver, who usually sleep with her, spent the night with Levi, Gimpy and me instead. It's common for all four dogs to be on edge the first night Kim's away. They expect her to come home any minute, so they're hyper-vigilant and it takes a long time for them to settle down. By the second night (tonight), if history repeats itself, they'll have the situation figured out and will all sleep peacefully.

Last night, though, the three males barked time and again at noises I couldn't even hear, each time moving to the indoor gate and waiting expectantly for the front door to open. Lucy didn't join the barking boys because she was too busy rearranging Gimpy's bed to match her idea of comfort. Throughout the night she alternated deep snoring with frantic bed-pawing activity.

Ollie, once he gave up waiting for Kim, decided to curl into a tiny ball at the bottom left corner of my bed, the corner that didn't have my feet on it. Levi and Gimpy, who aren't allowed on my bed, looked pointedly back and forth from Ollie to me, telepathically urging me to make him get down in the interest of fairness. I didn't. He's little, he was finally quiet, and I was too tired to fool with him.

That turned out to be a mistake. Who knew I turned over so many times during the night? And who knew Ollie was sleeping on the exact spot where my feet would come to rest when I turned over? I attempted to slide Ollie over with my feet, but he hugged that spot like a rock. No, not a rock, a boulder--a compact-car-sized boulder that had rolled or been blown there when the asteroid that killed all the dinosaurs hit the earth and hadn't budged since. That's why all the turning over I did last night involved waking up and scooting around to find comfortable spaces for all my limbs.

Another thing that kept me awake was the music in my head. With every toss, turn or unusual noise, I'd wake just enough to realize that the tune I was thinking--same tune every time--was a song I'd never posted here and that it would make a good Saturday Song Selection. I was worried I'd forget it by morning, so I tried to wake up enough to write down the title, but I never did. Maybe the melody acted as a lullaby, soothing me back to sleep each time.

Anyway, it's a beautiful song and I'm glad I thought of it--just wish I hadn't thought of it so many times in the middle of the night. Press "play" and listen if you want to. I, on the other hand, as soon as I press "publish," am going to shut four dogs out of my bedroom and take a nap.


The song is "All I Want" by Kodaline.
Thanks to songlyricslion for posting the video and lyrics on YouTube.

6 comments:

  1. A few years ago, before I lost my schnauzers, Max and then Gracie, I had a beagle, a standard schnauzer, an miniature schnauzer and a 40 lb schnauzer/beagle mix all sleeping in my bed with me. The 15 lb miniature schnauzer was the one that felt like a boulder and somehow took up the most room! In the one little spot left for my feet is where she would want to be. Dang, I miss having a crowded bed.

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    1. I know how you feel, Betsy. My last pair of dogs, Kadi and Butch (big dogs), slept with me until they grew too old and achy to climb up into the bed, and I missed having them there. Now I'm the one who's old and achy. Levi and Gimpy are even bigger than Butch and Kadi were. As tempted as I am sometimes, I try to remember that I'll sleep better by myself, and I'll be a healthier, happier tennis-ball thrower if I'm well rested. We do love to cuddle on the sofa, though

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  2. Sorry to be laughing at your plight... wishing you a better night!

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    1. Thanks, Holly, I did have a better night. As soon as Ollie jumped up on the bed (exact same spot), I picked him up and placed him back on the floor. Then I folded up a fluffy blanket, scrunched it up a bit and patted it with my hand to invite him to try it out. He immediately climbed onto the blanket, rolled over for a belly rub (which I gave him), and stayed there for the rest of the night. I'm sure he slept better without my feet poking him all night long.

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  3. You and Scott should trade stories. Every morning he narrates how the night went, in the ever-present battle between he and Ruffles over "Whose pillow this really is." Ruffles usually wins. He will totally agree with Aunt Betsy that a miniature schnauzer can become like a rock in the bed! Hope you have gotten some rest in the meantime.

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    1. Hahaha! Maybe it's time for Scott to give up and get himself a new pillow. Surely Ruffles doesn't need two of them.

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