Since having a baby I've started to notice that I perceive time differently. Right now it seems like the days themselves are incredibly slow. Some days (when I need reinforcements), it seems like 5pm will never get here. Yet, despite the slow days, it seems like the weeks are just flying by. I can't believe that Simon will be 5 months old this week and that we've lived in Washington for 8 and a half months already. I'm sure my perception of time will change again as Simon gets older. Before I know it, I'll be wanting more hours in the day again.
Here's one of my weird random thoughts that I had while trying to fall asleep: how lakes get named. I've lived near/around lakes most of my life. Lake Erie, Lake Michigan, and now Lake Sammamish, Lake Washington, Lake Chelan, and Beaver Lake. Hmmm, what do you notice about those names? Hint: one of these things is not like the other... (sing it with me!)...
Who sets the precedence when naming a lake whether the word "lake" should be first or last? All the lakes mentioned above start with "lake" expect Beaver Lake. And since that's how I first heard it, calling it Lake Beaver just seems funny just as saying Erie Lake seems wrong. So, who decides this? Or is it according to the size of the body of water?
This is just a glimpse of the types of thoughts that come to me when I should be sleeping instead.
In a recent post, Jeff wrote about the various challenges we're having with Simon sleeping. I, too, am having my own sleep problems which I need to work out. For as long as I can remember I've never been able to fall immediately to sleep. It's obvious I didn't inherit the Mattoni "fall instantly asleep the moment my head hits the pillow" gene. I'm definitely more like my mom. My mom was a self proclaimed night owl and often had insomnia. I hadn't really experienced insomnia until I was pregnant (which didn't last too long) but for me, it's the amount of wind-down time needed in order to fall asleep. Back during my working days, I'd known some friends to mock me in wanting to get to bed by 10pm (you know who you are!). Perhaps what they didn't realize is that even though I'd try to be in bed by 10pm, I'd be lucky if I fell asleep by 11pm. Now, logic might suggest to just stay up and then go to bed at 11pm, but that would backfire. I'd still be up around midnight trying to turn off my brain.
And that is where the root of the problem lies - I can't turn off my brain. When I get into bed, I have 8 million thoughts racing through my head - recalling earlier moments in the day, thinking about things that need to get done tomorrow, making mental lists of things to remember/do weeks from now. My thoughts run the gamut - thoughts about time and lakes (both which will have future blog posts), to what to pack for a trip that's more than 3 weeks away! And it's not just at my initial bedtime. It often happens when I get up in the night to feed Simon or when I try to take a nap during the day. Daytime naps (which I sometimes really need) are almost impossible - by the time I start to fall asleep, Simon is waking up from his nap.
I've tried various things, like some light reading before bed, warm tea or milk, slow breathing techniques, and focusing on the good things in my life (literally counting my blessings), but I'm still struggling. I need to figure out a way to relearn to fall asleep.
This is friggin' hilarious! Tried to imbed the actual video, but I kept getting an error. Trust me, for a quick laugh, this is totally worth it!
Since moving to Washington I've noticed that I just don't see dead animals on the side of the road like I did in Ohio. And I'm not complaining about this, as I could easily tear up at the site of a poor creature on the side of the road. On my daily commute up I-71 to work, I'd see any number of deer, raccoons, squirrels, etc. I haven't seen a single deer in the 8 months I've lived here. Not one. I've seen a few raccoons, but it's still not as common as in the midwest.
Today while travelling on Rt. 202, I saw your not-so-average roadkill - a cougar (or a bobcat, not sure which). Deer are too mundane for the likes of Washington. Go big, or go home I guess.
A spider has taken up residence in the peep-hole of our front door. Scared the crap out of me today. I've informed this new tenant that he has until the end of the day to vacate the premises. If he hasn't, my husband is going to have to kill him for me. Otherwise, I'll never be able to open the door for any more Amazon deliveries.