A Good Night's Sleep

When you get to be my age, a spry 40 years old, you start to value the dumbest most mundane things in life. For instance, the smell of fresh cut grass. A well seasoned steak. Some murder mysteries on CBS. And a good night's sleep.

There was a time when that was the solution to everything. Your body is tired. Good night sleep. You have a broken heart. Good night sleep. You can't sleep. Good night's sleep. And so forth. It was made even more comical in western movies where after being shot by Indians or beaten half to death by drunken townies, it was always "what that man needs, is a good night's sleep." Nevermind that his psyche is encompassed by the reason being he got jumped in the first place was that he was just resting on the prairie. Good luck getting a good night's rest, if'n you can't even get a good day's sit.

The miracle of getting a good night's sleep is the problem. What is a good night's sleep?

I figure it's that moment where you are just dead like a log. Where you aren't panicked about the next day. Going over the crap you need to do the next day. Errands you may've forgotten. People you've needed to call or email. I think this is made even worse if you have kids. I can't even imagine that constant paranoia of whether or not you've squashed them, or "accidentally" stabbed them in your sleep. Then, atop that, making sure no one else has.

Well, last night, I got home from a 16 hour work day. Brutal, since my brain is swimming. I get dizzy spells and headaches. I sat down to watch some of my murder mysteries. Within minutes, I was out. As if a boxer had punched me cold. I'd went out cold. When I came to, the program was still on. I'd essentially been knocked out of commission. I swear, during that time I heard nothing. Felt nothing. Hadn't had this sensation since being sedated for surgery. I really forgot how good it felt to just be dead to the world. You could've taken a whiffle ball bat to my junk, I'd have just rolled over. Maybe this is how the dead feel. Relieved. Finally rested. I'd like to think so.