Insomnia
On September 21, 2016 by Speranza
I was just stretching luxuriously in bed, thinking I would get up in a moment or two since I was feeling so uncommonly refreshed, when The General told me it was 1 am.
He then promptly went back to sleep.
After trying everything I could (and feeling guilty for disturbing the cat, who was cuddling with me in a perfect donut-shape) I decided to get up and try to make the best use of the time, safe in the knowledge that I would be wrecked by lunchtime and feeling/looking like a zombie.
Creeping about an old house without making a sound is an art form and I zig-zagged my way down the hardwood stairs, with Dresden following dutifully behind (I never realized that cats do actually frown) and then, once installed on the main floor, I decided to bake the cake for my niece’s birthday this week. After a while, the cat decided it was obviously just a really, really early start to the day and demanded breakfast (kedgeree, broiled kidneys, lightly coddled eggs but settled for FancyFeast in the end) before trying to make his usual routine fit, which to be honest, is just a quick wash and then more sleep, although at least he wanted to be in the same room as me.
And I appreciate that support.
Soon, I had lined cake tins, made cake, cleaned up all the dishes and the house was starting to smell deeply chocolatety so I moved on to some mindless internet surfing – some cerebral, some not so much.
I prolonged making the coffee because I have noticed that when I don’t have much sleep, I already feel very jangled and borderline anxious.
Caffeine also gets metabolized very quickly with me (picture the beans getting into a luge) so I must tread carefully and have just the right amount.
More confusion though for poor Dresden who usually connects the coffee maker sound with food and therefore began heralding a hopeful second breakfast request with incessant mewling. Eventually, he did give up and returned to a tight little circle on my lap.
I was also chilly so now typing in The General’s soft grey sweatshirt, which is all I could find without risking more creaking and squeaking in order to retrieve something more suitable.
(Going up two flights of stairs silently is not unlike the tire drills favoured by the NFL, just saying …)
I know I am going to feel utterly wretched at work in just a few hours but at least the cake is made and I feel hopeful that tonight I may sleep right through which will be BLISS …
Oh dear, there really isn’t anything like not being able to sleep; it’s a horrible feeling! I admire that your response is to do something constructive…I usually toss and turn while getting more and more angry at the world. Cats really are creatures of habit, no? And I adore the accompanying photo!
Mz. Loudshoes says it all. I also suffer from insomnia at times, waking after a few hours of sleep, feeling refreshing until I see how I have slept only a few hours. I have never been able to exorcise a creative endeavor as you have, so bravo!