Night 9 Without My Bed
"I fell asleep on the floor last night. It was the worst night's sleep ever!" These were the first words my nephew said, after exchanging salutations, with the rest of the family. He has come to our house for a weekend visit. And, as he plopped down on the chair, in the living room, he continued. "It is total HELL, sleeping on a floor."
"You should try it for more than just one night." I couldn't help myself. I know my nephew doesn't really get the point of this blog. (Hell, none of my family shows the type of support, that I so wish they would. To them, this whole thing is just silly. It is nothing more than a waste of time. They all keep telling me there is no way I am going to be able to do it. And furthermore, "why should you even want to do something that is so ridiculous?") I knew, even before I said another word, that anything I spoke, in regards to this project, would be a waste of energy. Still though, I continued. "I've gone 9 WHOLE days without a bed."
"Well," my nephew said. "Nobody is forcing you to do it, are they, Michael?"
Part of me wanted to ask who forced him to sleep on the floor last night. Part of me wanted to get all rude, and defensive. (Because, after all, when you do a project that has you giving up things you take for granted, left and right, well...you do tend to get a bit bitchy.) I actually surprised myself. Instead of saying one of the many witty comebacks that had popped in my head, I merely responded with: "Nope! Nobody forced me to do this. You're right."
Nights 8 and 9 were actually pretty easy. As for night 8, I slept like a baby. It was probably the best night's sleep I have had, since starting this particular sacrifice. And, as such, there really wasn't anything to report. (Because honestly, how much fun would it be to read: I had a great night sleeping last night. I did not wake up once. Until tomorrow.)
Last night...night 9.
My animals made sure that I could not stay asleep. First, my dog rolled himself up in the blankets. It is amazing to me how a little chihuahua mix could be such a blanket thief. But, more than once last night, I woke up FREEZING COLD. And there, either of my feet, or to my side, was a big old wad of blankets, with my dog tucked away in the middle. (And, of course, each time I had to take the blankets back, I got the little growls, from my dog. Growls that seemed to ask: "Hey, man! What the hell?")
My cat, deciding she did not want to be left out, decided to steal my pillow, shortly after 3 am. She started off with curling up on it, next to my face. This woke me up, and I was okay with it. But, apparently, she wanted more. A few minutes later, she began to stretch out her legs, and she pushed my head off of the pillow. (And, just like with my dog...She was very unhappy when I had to reclaim the pillow. But, I am sorry. I may be sleeping on a hard floor. But dammit, I at least deserve a comfortable pillow for my head."
At about 4;15 in the morning (I have my cell phone by the pillow, and I checked the time.),my legs began to cramp up in a horrible way. And my back began to tighten, and I found myself praying that these last 6 nights of this sacrifice zoom by, at warp speed.
I remember when K was a little kid. Sleeping on the floor was never all that big a deal. Whenever I stayed over at a friends house, or had my cousins over, I would usually wind up sleeping on the floor. And it never bothered me. As a child, sleeping on the floor was no problem.
Oh...just another reminder that getting older sucks. Now there are all these pains, that come from sleeping on a floor. (Well, I have had some good night...I will give you that.)
So, today, I started questioning what I have learned from this particular sacrifice.
I have learned that it was absolutely STUPID of me, to complain about the price of my bed, when I bought it last year. $1,100.00 seemed expensive at the time. And, I remember even lying in that bed, not too long before this particular sacrifice began, and thinking to myself that it was such a pricey purchase. (Like I really had anything better to spend the money on. I don't think so.) And now, suddenly, that amount doesn't seem bad at all. I have learned to fully appreciate my bed, even though it may have cost more than I was wanting to spend.
And, I have also learned that it hurts a lot more, when you kick in your sleep, and you are on the floor. Since my foot surgery, my
feet are extremely sensitive. And, on occasion, I will kick in my sleep. Either from a spasm, or from the weight of the blankets. Last night, I kicked my foot. And, it came crashing back down on the hard floor, toes first.
Yep! Talk about a HORRIBLE way to wake up! I was screaming out curse words, one after the other.
In bed, when my foot kicks, there is the nice pillow top to keep me from pain. On the floor, not so much.
Anyway...
9 nights down. 6 more to go. Then, it is back to sleeping on my nice, comfy bed. And, it is on to the next sacrifice.
"You should try it for more than just one night." I couldn't help myself. I know my nephew doesn't really get the point of this blog. (Hell, none of my family shows the type of support, that I so wish they would. To them, this whole thing is just silly. It is nothing more than a waste of time. They all keep telling me there is no way I am going to be able to do it. And furthermore, "why should you even want to do something that is so ridiculous?") I knew, even before I said another word, that anything I spoke, in regards to this project, would be a waste of energy. Still though, I continued. "I've gone 9 WHOLE days without a bed."
"Well," my nephew said. "Nobody is forcing you to do it, are they, Michael?"
Part of me wanted to ask who forced him to sleep on the floor last night. Part of me wanted to get all rude, and defensive. (Because, after all, when you do a project that has you giving up things you take for granted, left and right, well...you do tend to get a bit bitchy.) I actually surprised myself. Instead of saying one of the many witty comebacks that had popped in my head, I merely responded with: "Nope! Nobody forced me to do this. You're right."
Nights 8 and 9 were actually pretty easy. As for night 8, I slept like a baby. It was probably the best night's sleep I have had, since starting this particular sacrifice. And, as such, there really wasn't anything to report. (Because honestly, how much fun would it be to read: I had a great night sleeping last night. I did not wake up once. Until tomorrow.)
Last night...night 9.
My animals made sure that I could not stay asleep. First, my dog rolled himself up in the blankets. It is amazing to me how a little chihuahua mix could be such a blanket thief. But, more than once last night, I woke up FREEZING COLD. And there, either of my feet, or to my side, was a big old wad of blankets, with my dog tucked away in the middle. (And, of course, each time I had to take the blankets back, I got the little growls, from my dog. Growls that seemed to ask: "Hey, man! What the hell?")
My cat, deciding she did not want to be left out, decided to steal my pillow, shortly after 3 am. She started off with curling up on it, next to my face. This woke me up, and I was okay with it. But, apparently, she wanted more. A few minutes later, she began to stretch out her legs, and she pushed my head off of the pillow. (And, just like with my dog...She was very unhappy when I had to reclaim the pillow. But, I am sorry. I may be sleeping on a hard floor. But dammit, I at least deserve a comfortable pillow for my head."
At about 4;15 in the morning (I have my cell phone by the pillow, and I checked the time.),my legs began to cramp up in a horrible way. And my back began to tighten, and I found myself praying that these last 6 nights of this sacrifice zoom by, at warp speed.
I remember when K was a little kid. Sleeping on the floor was never all that big a deal. Whenever I stayed over at a friends house, or had my cousins over, I would usually wind up sleeping on the floor. And it never bothered me. As a child, sleeping on the floor was no problem.
Oh...just another reminder that getting older sucks. Now there are all these pains, that come from sleeping on a floor. (Well, I have had some good night...I will give you that.)
So, today, I started questioning what I have learned from this particular sacrifice.
I have learned that it was absolutely STUPID of me, to complain about the price of my bed, when I bought it last year. $1,100.00 seemed expensive at the time. And, I remember even lying in that bed, not too long before this particular sacrifice began, and thinking to myself that it was such a pricey purchase. (Like I really had anything better to spend the money on. I don't think so.) And now, suddenly, that amount doesn't seem bad at all. I have learned to fully appreciate my bed, even though it may have cost more than I was wanting to spend.
And, I have also learned that it hurts a lot more, when you kick in your sleep, and you are on the floor. Since my foot surgery, my
feet are extremely sensitive. And, on occasion, I will kick in my sleep. Either from a spasm, or from the weight of the blankets. Last night, I kicked my foot. And, it came crashing back down on the hard floor, toes first.
Yep! Talk about a HORRIBLE way to wake up! I was screaming out curse words, one after the other.
In bed, when my foot kicks, there is the nice pillow top to keep me from pain. On the floor, not so much.
Anyway...
9 nights down. 6 more to go. Then, it is back to sleeping on my nice, comfy bed. And, it is on to the next sacrifice.