Zzzzzz

So that first night was rough. I pulled out all the stops. My neck was stiff, so I used a relaxation cream I have that smells like peppermint and makes you all tingly. I cranked up the AC, read for a bit and finally fell sound asleep.

I couldn't haven't been asleep for more than an hour or two when I was wide awake. I insisted on staying in bed with the lights off and focusing on slowing my breathing. I tossed and turned and tossed some more. For some reason I thought it would be fun to count sheep. I had this whole elaborate story going. The Serta sheep were coming in my front door, trotting down the hallway to my bedroom and jumping over my bed whereupon I would count them. Then they piled up on top of each other in the 2 feet of space next to my bed and stared at me. Finally there were so many that I had to send them out the door to the balcony. Guess how high I got. 1,200. Still awake.

I tried a narrative, rolling pastures, but that was short lived. I prayed for a bit, but God got bored with me. I put on some more tingly cream. I switched pillows. I tried counting backwards, which is what my mom always made me do when I would wander into her room at night complaining I could sleep. She'd give me an assignment - count backward from 1,000 and if I was still awake, come back. I think I only went back once. It was painful! I refused to look at the clock, so I can only imagine how long I laid awake. I swear it was 36 hours! That alarm went off too early!