May Contain Peanuts

Bonus Sleep

Usually with these posts, I nitpick about something I have a gripe with and then elaborate on how I would attempt to fix or deal with the situation. Topics range from everyday occurrences and items to the latest news headlines. I do not discriminate when I denigrate. Today, however I want to discuss something I actually really enjoy, even though to some it may seem like more a nuisance than a hidden gift.

Let me set the scene. It's the dark of night and you awake with a start. You lie awake for a second immediately ruing the fact that your day is about to begin and you will soon leave the comfortable warmth of your lovely bed. You roll over and attempt to focus your eyes as to read the digits on your alarm clock. However, when your eyes finally shift the light coming into your retinas into something more distinguishable, you find that it is not 6:30 am, but rather it is 4:16 am!

Now some would be bothered by the fact that they woke up early, they may not be able to get back to sleep, they think something may be wrong or stressful to make them wake up so soon, etc. I, on the other hand immediately do a mental dance of joy, knowing that I do not have to leave my cocoon at this time. Instead, I can lay my head back down and drift back off into the world of dreams. It's almost as if I woke myself up to make myself happy that I get to go sleep more.

What brought me to write about this subject is that this phenomenon happened just the other day (as it does every once in a while). This time, though, I caught myself thinking about how much I enjoyed the fact that I can go back to sleep. I woke that night and my clock read 2:15 am. At once I was thrilled to have another 4 hours of wading through dreamland before me. When I finally awoke to the familiar beep of the alarm, I lied awake and thought about the night's event. I was puzzled as to why waking up in the middle of the night made me so content. I mean, it's no secret that I love sleeping, so why would I be more happy about the prospect of sleeping then the actual sleeping itself? I would think I would be upset that I was interrupted while enjoying one of my favorite 'activities'.

The more I thought about it, the more I likened this occurrence to other things I like doing; things like eating a nice meal or going to parties or events with friends. What I realized is that with all of these things, the build-up to the event is part of the total experience. I remember when I was a kid, I would get so excited in anticipation for the latest video game release. I would look up info about it, draw pictures of it and imagine myself playing it nonstop. When I finally got the game, I did everything I had planned to do and enjoyed every second of it. Well, this anticipation of sleep is just like that, just like driving to that new fancy restaurant, just like getting dressed for a party. We look forward to the event and then relish in our expectations.

Now sometimes, we can be let down if the outcomes do not match the expectations. But with sleeping, I always know what I am going to get and I am very very rarely let down (We can all be rudely awakened or have horrible nightmares). Therefore, the prospect of sleeping is as enthralling to me as the actual sleeping itself. Geez, I sound like quite the lazy slacker with this type of love for sleep, but that's just the way it is. In fact, I am happy with the fact I am happy about sleeping, for I know that every night, I get to enjoy one of my favorite activities. And even if I am gently reminded of that fact in the middle of said activity, well, I can't be mad at good news.


PS. Notice I say sleep is 'one of my favorite activities'. I am not a total lethargic mess; but I do happen to fully enjoy the natural pleasures: sleeping, eating, shitting, and copulating. But those can be saved for another post.