Sleep, blessed sleep.

I barely slept at all last night. We were in a hotel. It was a crappy hotel. The nonsmoking room smelled like smoke. But the bathroom was clean and it wasn't very expensive. The bed was king-sized. It was awful.

What kind of bed do you prefer? This bed was soft. It was squishy and soft and you sunk down in it and my hips were screaming at me and it was soft.  I prefer a relatively firm bed. I like at least a queen size (all we can fit up our old staircase is queen size, not king). I've slept in some wonderful beds and I've slept in some horrible beds. 

Horrible bed: a bed and breakfast in Eastern Canada somewhere (P.E.I.? New Brunswick?) Can't remember but it literally sloped downward, so you felt like you had to brace yourself the entire night to keep from slipping right off the bed.

Wonderful bed: Langdon Hall in Cambridge, Ontario. There I discovered the joy that is a down-filled topper on top of an equally wonderful bed. Like sleeping on a supportive cloud.

Horrible bed: Before hubby and I were married and I would visit his parents' home, I was put on a "bed" in a spare room which was also like a little study / tv room. It was not until years later that I realized it wasn't even a bed, but some kind of vinyl coated flat couch like thing. It was hard and had wierd cushions that you could feel through the bedding.

Wonderful bed: One of the bed and breakfasts from our most recent getaway in Prince Edward County. The hostess said it was the same as her own bed that she and her husband sleep on. I think she said it was a Seely something or other. I should have remembered specifically what she said because it was very good. Not too hard, not too soft, Goldilocks.

Horrible bed: that bed I did not sleep in last night!!!! 

It is also tough to negotiate beds with your loved one. You have to agree on the bed, unless of course you are my dear friend who purchased a special bed that you can programme each side differently depending on how firm or not firm you want your side to be. Amazing.

I am not a good napper. Sometimes I am so desperate for a nap, like when I take a day off work because my sinuses are so clogged and in pain and I am sicker than a dog, and I try to nap. I try so hard and it doesn't happen and then I feel worse, or the phone rings. However, sometimes I fall asleep on the couch with the tv on if I have a " blankie" on me. 

I have a friend who is an excellent napper. She can just put her head down for a pre-determined amount of time, have a good little power nap and wake up refreshed. I would pay good money for that!

I have been through times in my life where I can't shut my brain off. At night. When I'm supposed to be sleeping. Everything that has happened, could happen, might happen, should have happened, all whips through my brain at break-neck speed, all the while I'm trying to say to myself, "Think of nothing. Let your mind go blank. Count backwards from 100...."

And lately my husband has taken up snoring. Normally the only time he snores is when he is congested, or he has enjoyed an extra drink or two with another dear friend. But now he snores pretty much on and off the whole night. I know this because I listen to him. When I do give him a nudge he declares he hasn't been snoring in a really indignant way and I answer that I wouldn't make this stuff up (I might say it differently depending on the time). 

So... I guess really what I'm saying is I could use a good night sleep tonight. How 'bout you?