We did not sleep well last night (“we” being my husband, our dog, and me), which is a pity because it was a wonderful night to sleep. At times, the rain played a lullaby on our roof. I would open my eyes every few minutes and think, “Oh how delicious to fall asleep to this sound!” Yet I could not fall asleep or drift off to sleep. I could barely sleep at all…just entered a sort of barely-sleeping state where every sound or movement awakened and alerted me.
The dog, who is aging and often struggles to sleep these days, paced the foot of our bed…back and forth from my husband to me. She could not find a comfortable spot to curl up like she does, a dark comma, pausing her wandering. She whined and fretted and when, through the dark, she somehow saw my eyes open, she lurched from the foot of the bed to my pillow, pressing her nose against my cheek.
My husband tossed and turned as well. Occasionally, his hand found mine under the tangle of covers. We held on for a moment; both of us listening to the thunder growl and the dog whimper. Morning came at last, a damp hiccuping breath after a hard cry. Three tired beings shrugged off the warmth of our bed and faced the faded sun with relief, if not joy. We’ll all be tired tonight, and we will try again to find the sleep we lost.
10 responses to “Sleepless Night”
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Lori,
While a sleepless night is frustrating, your descriptions are so beautiful, loving and poetic.
“a dark comma, pausing her wandering”
“Occasionally, his hand found mine under the tangle of covers. We held on for a moment; both of us listening to the thunder growl and the dog whimper. Morning came at last, a damp hiccuping breath after a hard cry.”
I hope the three of you fare better tonight.
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Thank you, Sharon! I, too, hope we can all get a better night’s sleep. We love our little Jersey girl (12 and half year old Miniature Schnauzer); but we’re all adjusting to her new sleep patterns.
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I hate when that happens! It doesn’t happen to me often – I’m more likely to fall asleep and then wake up between 5 & 5:30 and lay there not sleeping. I hope tonight is a better night!
I did enjoy the descriptions you used in your writing.-
We did get some sleep last night, thank goodness!
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A sleepless night can sometimes throw the whole day out of whack. I also like how your hands found each other letting each other know, without words, that you are sharing this sleepless night. Hope all three of you have a better night tonight.
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Thank you! We did get a better night’s sleep last night. I think we were too tired to keep our eyes open!
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Lori, what beautiful prose about the three beings trying to find a good night’s sleep. Good luck tonight! I like how each paragraph is about a different one of you. This image is amazing: “Morning came at last, a damp hiccuping breath after a hard cry.”
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Thank you, Denise! I really appreciate your comments (and we did get a good night’s sleep last night).
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This is a perfect description of how some nights go. Your phrases – like your dog as a “dark comma,” are so distinct. Love this: “Morning came at last, a damp hiccuping breath after a hard cry.” I have those sleepless nights, too, and sometimes I finally give in and say, “That’s it for now. There’s always tomorrow night.” Not sure if it’s better if ALL are awake together or if it’s just me with eyes wide open. I do hope you found good sleep the next night.
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Thank you! We did get a better sleep last night. It rained again, but the dog was too worn out to keep us up.
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