"Deader than 4:00" - NOT!

How I wish I could sleep like I did, as a kid!  I really didn't appreciate it then.  In fact, I think I fought sleep 50 or more years ago...a nap mat in kindergarten... having to come in from playing when the street lights came on as a youngster.  getting into the house before curfew as a teenager...  All signaled a time to sleep but I don't think I savored it then like I would now. Of course, back then, the biggest worries I had were which cereal I was going to have for breakfast or who was going to come out and play. The good old days!

For years, hubby has used the term "deader than 4:00"  --meaning the carousers and party animals are usually in bed by then, workers aren't up and at 'em yet (unless they're a shift worker) and all is quiet for that brief hour of the day.  Unless you're in our house ...where I'm wandering around or laying awake, trying to find that elusive peace.

It's not like I have huge worries now (although you never stop worrying about your kids...your grandkids... your spouse...your future...your friends.., do you?)   The truth is I can't do a damn thing about any of it at 4:00 in the morning!  But it doesn't matter.  I remain awake.

I try different techniques in the hopes of nodding off.  First, I start off with praying.  If that doesn't work, counting my blessings, of which there are plenty, is next.  If I'm  still awake, I play a game of "If I won the lottery, who would I share the riches with?"  The answers vary, depending on how I feel about that particular relative (hear that, boys?) or institution on that particular night.  Then I start worrying about family members and friends I left out of the lottery game! Oh, heck!

My husband, who seldom suffers from this malady, swears I need help.  And I probably do.  But I know I'm not alone.  From conversations with others, it sounds like a lot of women struggle to go to sleep and stay asleep.

Maybe some entrepreneur out there could start marketing woman-size kindergarten nap mats. Any takers?