The joy of sleep

I'm a VERY heavy sleeper. I have slept through a fire alarm going off right outside my apartment door (and a fire in my next-door-neighbor's apartment), lightning striking a transformer outside my bedroom window, and many storms that would awaken most folks. I lived most of my life across the street from either a train station or a train yard and was rarely ever bothered by the noise.

There will no doubt be some people who will read that and be envious of my ability to sleep so soundly. However, *I* have always been envious of people who can wake up at the desired time without an alarm--who could just say to themselves "I need to be up at 6 a.m." and then magically awake at 6 a.m. That is miraculous to me. Even WITH a alarm clock (with 2 alarms on it), I was lucky to make it to work on time many days (one of the downsides to living alone is that there's no one to kick your behind out of bed if, in a sleep-induced stupor, you accidentally turn off the alarm and go back to sleep). I hate waking to an alarm--or even the radio. At least with the advent of clocks fitted with CD players and nature sounds, I managed to awake less jarringly in the past several years.

For 37 years, I awoke to an alarm clock at least the 4-5 days per week that I worked--and sometimes even the days that I didn't, in order to go to the gym, doctor appointments, etc. For the last 5 years before my retirement a few months ago, I was chronically sleep deprived because I decided that the only way I could consistently exercise was to do so before work in the morning. I'm one of those people who needs a pretty solid 7 1/2 to 8 hours of sleep a night. I went to bed at a reasonable time on work nights--between 10:15 and 10:30 p.m.--but would read a while and then still often could not fall asleep right away. My alarm went off at 5:15 a.m. on workdays for my workout and then it was into the shower, the whole hair and makeup routine, finding the right outfit, and off to work by 7:15.

I'm finding that one of the greatest joys of retirement is sleeping...and sleeping in. I don't wake to an alarm anymore except for two mornings per week that I volunteer. It is wonderful to just sleep until I awake--whenever that is. Most days, I'm still up by 7-7:30 a.m. and fall asleep much more easily at night than I used to. Because of the heat, I tend to be out the door for my walk--if it's a walking day--by 7 a.m. so that I can enjoy my walk instead of being uncomfortably broiled by the sun.

One of my favorite moments of the day is when I first awake. I lay there and I decide--do I feel like getting up now? If the answer is no because I still feel groggy, I turn over and go back to sleep. What luxury! I have a ceiling fan in my bedroom and I love the feel of moving air on my skin and in my hair as I awake. Sometimes I just lay there snuggled in my high-thread-count sheets and smile like a crazy person with joy.

When I say that I take joy in small things, I am not kidding. :) Taking joy in small things helps me stay in touch with how blessed I am...and staying in touch with how blessed I am helps me to be a more positive person...and being a more positive person makes me a happier and more contented person--both inside myself and with other people. See how that works? :)