Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Full-moon insomnia

I said to Cliff last night, before I went to bed, "I ought to just take an over-the-counter sleeping pill; there's a full moon out there, and I never sleep well during a full moon."  
Unfortunately, I did not take a pill.  
Oh, I went to sleep not long after going to bed.  Then at some time before midnight, I awoke and heard the unmistakable sound of my dog, Iris, jumping in the bathtub of the bathroom just off our bedroom.  Normally she only retreats to the tub when a storm threatens, but the sky was cloudless.  I mused on this, then managed to go back to sleep.  
At two o'clock, I woke again, and evidently Iris heard me stirring, because I heard her jump out of the bathtub and come to my side of the bed.  I reached down and stroked her head for awhile; when I'd stop, she would nudge my hand.  
What if she's sick and needs out, I thought.  So I whispered to her, "Do you want out?"  
She did the characteristic stretch that dogs do when you ask such a question, which usually means yes.  I got out of bed; Iris led me to the living room and plopped down in front of the couch in her favorite TV-watching position.  Obviously she wanted another insomniac to keep her company, but I went back to bed.  Within five minutes, I heard her climbing into the tub again.  
Cliff woke up briefly and I told him I should have taken that pill, but 2 A.M. is too late to take one.  Then I heard Crazy Neighbor pulling up to the house next door, the house on whose loan he has defaulted... a house with no electricity, but he seems to be staying there anyhow.  This was the second time during the night that I heard his car over there.  He has a court date in three weeks, so maybe then things will quiet down.  
I heard a train whistle at the back of our place, which set off a chorus of coyotes howling.  
At this point I'm wide awake, and I start pondering the mistake at the bank.  Yes folks, for the first time in my life I actually caught a bank in a mistake.  I had written check number 2476 to pay a bill in the amount of $78.37.  Saturday I received an overdraft notice in the mail saying check number 2476 was for the amount of $240.76; the bank had paid the check and charged me a $20 overdraft fee.  
You can imagine how this messed with my mind, waiting until Monday morning to call the bank.  The lady I talked to yesterday was courteous, and by this time I had cooled off so that I was nice to her.  Turns out it wasn't my bank that made the error, it was the bank on the other end.  She explained it all to my satisfaction, and said she would get the money back into my account.  The trouble is, at our rinky-dink bank, transactions don't show up online until the next day.  So, at 2:30 in the morning I was lying in bed wondering if that had been taken care of.  At 3 A.M. I finally got up, made coffee, and found out that, indeed, everything was fixed and my money was back in my account.  
Then I checked Facebook and saw there was a rash of insomnia amongst my Facebook friends.  It never fails; after all, it's a full moon.  If I were the type person to believe in  astrology, I would wonder if it affects me because I am a cancer... a moon-child.  
I received a lengthy email from my friend, Maria, yesterday; I mentioned her in yesterday's entry.  She still reads this drivel, and said she prints off all the recipes I include in my blog and gives them a try.  Maria is of 100% authentic Italian heritage (and proud of it), so I'm glad to know she likes my hillbilly recipes.  Ah, sometimes I wish we could go back to the old chat room days.  There was a core group of us that felt like family.  Then I remember the stinkers and troublemakers that came on the scene and disrupted things, and I have no desire to go back.

12 comments:

  1. Same kind of night around here only instead of a dog in a bathtub, I had a cat playing with the tie-belt thing on my robe (as I eventually had moved to the couch).

    I'll be ready for a nap by noon.

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  2. Once I fall asleep it seems nothing much keeps me awake. Even though I no longer work, I'm on such a schedule that I'm ready for bed early and get up early most days, but I sleep well. The full moon never affects me one way or the other, but I know many that are bothered by it. Hope you do get to take a nap later on.

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  3. I've not heard about the full moon causing insomnia, but it sure explains a lot.

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  4. I never sleep well even with and excedrin pm every single night, I can't remember the last time I slept thru the night or at the very least only woke once!

    I don't have a dog that jumps in the bathtub but I have a cat that does that..he likes hearing when he jumps around and it echoes!

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  5. I guess some thing was in the air or on the moon. Our dog Foxie woke me to go out . I let her out and when she came back in I cooped her. I coop the dogs at night . the things they do while I am asleep can not be allowed, any way I just went back to bed and she started barking wanting out again. she never does this so I suppose it was the moon. We have two small dogs and they are a pain to say the least.

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  6. nerves05 ( Nancy)7:46 AM

    That could explain why my outside dogs keep barking all night last night and kept my hubby up half the night. which in turn kept me up some of the night. The full moon does not effect me. I can sleep through a bomb but it does my hubby. Normally he's a butt head during full moons. I tell him he's testy when the moon is full. He disagrees with me. but it's the truth.

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  7. That's sweet about Iris! She sounds like Mattie with the nudging of your hand!

    I have the same problem with sleeping during a full moon! The moon is such a gorgeous sight when it's full, but I always know there's not going to be much sleep going on!

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  8. I slept but I dreamed strange things that kept me restless all night. Apparently the moon was helping to focus my frustrations.

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  9. Sorry to hear about yours and Iris's restless time because of the full moon. Superstitions abound. Must be something to them, though I've never been touched by it in a negative way. I'm a night owl and embrace the night, seldom getting to sleep before 3am. I LOVE a full moon, just something about it embraces me in a big old hug.

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  10. I took a pill at 2:30 and didn't want to get up this morning. In fact I went back to bed. The full moon and caffeine will keep me awake.

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  11. Oh, yes -- the misery of not sleeping through the night. Naps the next day do help -- but it begins the vicious cycle of not sleeping through the next night . . .I've tried the sleeping pill routine but can't wake up the next morning so gave that one up. My doc has now prescribed the mildest tranquilizer on the planet which only lasts four hours. Sometimes that helps. Sleep tight! M.

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  12. The full moon usually affect my sleep as well -- and I'm an Aries.

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