My darling 12 year old Pugsley… waking up with a small sleeping boy on your lap helps so much…
It’s been a series of nights where I was up and down all night, didn’t get much sleep, and was awake very early and unable to go back to sleep. 4:00 a.m. yesterday, 5:00 a.m. today, I finally fell back to sleep between 7 and 8 and was awakened by a phone call. I got up and started the day and that helped. As I talked on the phone, FaceTiming with my son, grandbaby, and daughter-in-law, a very sweet call, Pugsley was asleep on my lap. I took the picture above just as I got off the phone.
I have not been able to sleep in a bed since my house burned down. I sleep in my big, oversized recliner with a nice soft blanket and the pugs and we are very cozy. It works for us. And when I wake up in the middle of the night afraid and anxious having two wee pugs on top of me helps. Some people use “weighted blankets.” I don’t need them. I have pugs!
Wee Delilah on top, Pugsley on the bottom…
The other thing that helps a lot is lavender oil. I slather it on when I can’t sleep and it will help me go to sleep, at least at the outset, and closer to morning if I can’t go to sleep it really at least helps relax me. I am mentioning this because I want you to know about the oils I use. FORGET those MLM oils like, I’m sorry folks, I’m going to name names because I am appalled at the way people get hooked in to paying huge amounts of money for essential oils. I have been using Radha oils for years. High quality, amazing, wonderful, big 4 ounce bottles for about $15. I have a number of different oils and they are all top notch, I love them, I have given them as gifts to my daughter and friends who love and use them. You DON’T have to pay a lot of money for doTerra, Young Living, and other high end oils. You just DON’T! Check this out and I have several other oils I’ve bought over the last few years from them but I keep the lavender oil in multiple places in my house. Click on the link to go to amazon if you are interested and check them out. And I am NOT an affiliate, I make no money from mentioning this, I just want people to know that there are wonderful essential oils that you don’t have to pay a lot of money for.
Other things that help on those nights, or rather middle of the night, or in the wee early hours of the a.m., and I KNOW you are NOT supposed to do this. No “devices” because the light is supposed to disrupt sleep, but I am here to tell you when, after struggling for anywhere from 1 to 2 hours to go back to sleep and getting so anxious I am about to go through the roof, I WILL get on my phone, check my email, maybe Instagram, but I get on Facebook, I say to my friends, “I can’t sleep, I feel alone, and afraid…” and people answer, and that sense of connection will save you. And the thing that always amazes me is how many other women I see awake and on Facebook in the middle of the night. We might be struggling, we might be afraid, but we are not alone. I am a person who has struggled with mental health issues for decades. I am a person who, in my past, was suicidal (Not anymore and not for a long time now, no worries.) but I have seen too many people take their lives because among whatever other reasons they were so alone. We are not alone. Reach out. Even if it’s Facebook at 4 a.m.
This is a disjointed pitiful post and I am sorry, I really am, but it was a rough night, and a long day, and I had to deal with more than one difficult person today, sigh, and it is 8:30 p.m. when I am finally able to get this post up. Some days are like that. We do the best we can. I’m here, and so is a very dear friend who was about to try to get her blog post up late in the day as I did mine. We texted back and forth, we wished each other luck. Good luck M., I love you, and I am waving from here!
I hope you are having a good weekend. I hope you sleep well, but if you have trouble you might try a pug or two. I’ve adopted 11 in 12 years (Mostly seniors and disabled babies, the loves of my life. I have had Pugsley since 2011 and Delilah since 2013. They are my darling sweethearts. She’s 10, he’s 12.) or at least try the lavender oil. And write to me here in the comments and tell me what works for you on the hard nights. I’m open to suggestions. WAY open!
This is not an earth shaking blog post but right now it’s all I’ve got. Tomorrow is another day.
hey sis, we don’t need any earth-shaking posts!!! be careful what you say!!! i’m speaking from florida where mother earth’s winds and water shook things up way beyond anything florida has experienced since records were kept. and you know what florence did to wilmington. !!! that said, when i cant sleep i usually write acrostics in my mind. Like:
S o do you think you could
L et me
E ase into that
E ssential
P lace of restful peace, please?
etc. i can write lots of SLEEP acrostics while waiting for them to work!
Here’s another one
S he says
L avendar oil really helps
E rase the frustration of insomnia
E very suggestion helps, at 4 a.m.
P ut it down on your bedside list
ha ha but really
sending love, and hope tomorrow is more relaxing, after all it’s the day god rested, so why shouldn’t we?
xo
ka
Sweet Katya,
Ah yes, the elusive sleep. It seems to be a challenge for many women beyond midlife but yes, I highly recommend the lavender and I just got something — I wish I’d gotten my mail yesterday, I forgot! — called Klova patches, all natural sleeping patches. People rave about them and I got a coupon, special deal to try them so I ordered them out of desperation. I’ll let everyone know if they work!
https://www.klova.com/
Anyway it’s a new day, it was downright COLD when I took the dogs out at 8, I LOVE it. THIS is Fall. And it’s gorgeous out, and class issues are resolved so I am looking forward to teaching tonight, it’s a new day, and on I go…
Love you honey…
M. xoxox
Maitri,
When I am struggling I try to pray myself to sleep.
If I wake in the night, I have a few mindless games I play, or I watch ‘trash tv’ or maybe enjoy a cup of chamomile tea. Lying in bed unable to sleep drives me bonkers, so Iusually get up and find something to do.
Here’s to restful sleep-filled nights with the pugs! 💕
Thank you Maggie honey, as I just told Katya above I ordered some all natural sleep patches that came yesterday but I forgot to get the mail with everything that was going on yesterday, I wish I’d had them to try last night but I will give them a go tonight. I didn’t do too bad until about 4. Tried some ambient music, finally put on an audiobook, one I’d already listened to, put it on so low I really couldn’t hear it well it enough to listen well anyway but the soft talking put me to sleep finally. I can’t easily get up because the pugs sleep on top of me all snuggled up and they don’t know what to do. If I get up to go potty Pugsley stays snuggled in the chair but looks worried until I get back and Delilah follows me because she is a velcro pug! But they don’t know what to do if I am up in the middle of the night. Easier to snuggle in with them so I resort to my phone. But I have audio books and kindle books on my phone too so there’s lots of choices. Hope these sleep patches work. People rave about them. Something new to try…