Resisting the Sandman
Dec 13th, 2004 by lisa
This morning came too early… earlier than normal… we were curled up in bed with morning classical music on the radio… Can we stay like this all day? I asked. Sure, he answered, but we won’t have any money if we do. I momentarily weighed the pros and cons… and then got up to make breakfast.
But that was a moment I could have lived in forever…
It’s funny how sleep is better when it’s time to get up. No not better, but the best and sweetest sleep you’ve ever had. I think that’s why you should always just get up if you wake before the alarm goes off. Because the sleep you achieve between spontaneous-waking and alarm-clock-jarring will feel so good it’s like leaving nirvana to haul yourself awake and out of bed. Not that we woke before the alarm this morning. Just the opposite, and we fought consciousness every step along the way to running late when we finally flew out the door.
The hardest part of mornings these days is the cold floor. And the cold air, cold water, and the cold dark that confronts you when you peek out the window. It’s a challenge to convince yourself that it’s in your best interest not to hurriedly burrow under the blankets to sink back into the torpor of morning slumber. That deep restful floating lighter-than-air slumber should be what greets you when you first lay your head on the pillow at night. That’s the sleep of the Sandman. Why does he perversely insist on visiting first thing in the morning, instead of making his proper rounds in the evening?
