Thanks for sleep.

My whole life I've been a good sleeper. So good that it didn't occur to me as a college freshman that maybe my dorm roommate wouldn't appreciate me blow-drying my hair in our room while she slept. Seriously. I'm so embarrassed about this--I did it the entire year--but it honestly did not occur to me at the time, because I could sleep through a tornado and I thought everyone else could too.

As I've gotten older, that easy, uncomplicated sleep--get in bed, close your eyes, all of a sudden it's morning!--has gotten a bit more elusive. I still have slept well as an adult, although the last few years I've had to have the room totally dark in order to fall asleep. Then for some reason with this pregnancy, sleep became an entirely different animal. Like the kind that hides and you have to hunt down. I spent September and October tossing and turning--or giving up and getting up to read or do laundry--probably 90% of nights.

It's gotten a little better in November, I think in part because my first trimester is over and in part because I've started taking measures. I have this elaborate before-bed routine now that ideally starts at 9 or sometimes even 8 and includes no TV, a snack, a bath, and breathe-right strips. And two blankets and four pillows and the drapes tightly closed and a fan on in my room. (Imagine the scene in "Sleepless in Seattle" where Meg Ryan is helping Bill Pullman get ready for bed, with the humidifier and the Kleenex.) I know it sounds fussy, but there is nothing like waking up rested after 8 solid hours, and I'll do whatever it takes. 

There's something I really think I'll never take for granted again, and I'll never assume that sleep comes easily to others anymore either. I slept 8 hours last night, and although I never know what the next night will be like, whenever I do get a good night's sleep I'm just glad I got it! I am so thankful for sleep!!