To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub. 

I haven’t been able to sleep lately and it’s killing me.  I used to be the champion sleeper.  Just ask my mom.  I remember in high school to wake me up, my parents would have to come in the room, turn on the lights, and then remove my comforter from my bed to get me up.  Even when I was on my own, my natural wake up time was around 11am.  If there is one thing I can do, it’s sleep!  

Until now.

Oh, I still fall asleep, no problem.  I hop into bed with lights out and snooze away by 11pm faithfully.  But then?  Then I wake up.  Not mind racing and worried.  Not wide awake adn unable to fall back asleep.  I wake up tired and exhausted.  Blink in confusion as to why, exactly, I am awake, and then fall back asleep.  Only to wake up again, blink, fall asleep.  And repeat.  And repeat.  And repeat.  All night long.  It’s been four nights of this and I’m beginning to lose my mind.  I really need my sleep people!  These little hour and a half cat naps are killing me.   Instead of waking up all happy and refreshed, I’m more tired than ever.  It actually feels like those horrible/wonderful days when I was getting up all night with a tiny baby.  Only minus the tiny baby.

Ugh.   I don’t know what I did to break my sleep cycle but I’m regretting it.  So are the kids.  When I start to lose it, they just look at each other, nod solemnly and intone, “we broke Mom again” and then they quietly slip away to play somewhere else while I clean up the latest disaster.  However, I am an optimist at heart and I keep telling myself this is merely a phase.  This too shall pass.  And when it does, I will never take a full nights sleep for granted ever again!