Bedtime rituals

Samantha and I have a bedtime ritual that cracks me up.

Samantha is my lap cat. Usually, at bedtime, she’s dead asleep on my lap, and really not interested in moving to the bed. I sleep in the bed, though, so we are at an impasse, and that usually means that I have to physically remove her, a process which neither of us likes. I do tell her that it’s bedtime, though, and that she should come to the bed.

My own bedtime ritual is a minimum of 10 minutes, and that’s if I skip my supplements. I usually turn out the lights, visit the loo, take my prescription meds (five) and my supplements (fiber gummies, tums, pre- and pro-biotics, melatonin) and a more, erm, adult gummy for sleep. I plug in my phone, swap from my day watch to my sleep watch, put in my sleep pods, and start a sleep story.

Solid fifteen minutes if I do everything.

By which time, she is usually sitting on the bench at the foot of the bed, virtually stomping her little paws with “BEDTIME!” impatience.

When I am FINALLY done, and the lights to out, she makes her way up my side of the bed, and paws at the covers. I lift them for her, and time stops. She sits there, considering her life choices every night for a full thirty seconds.

Do I want to sleep with mommy? Do I want to do crimes instead? Should I finally go kill my stupid sister? Would dad be a better sleep buddy tonight? Am I hungry? Do I need a drink? Do I have to pee?

Every single night.

Probably 85% of the time, she *eventually* makes her way under the covers and behind my knees (I’m a side sleeper) where she stays most of the night.

But the ritual…never skipped.

Now, it’s a completely different thing if I get up to pee in the middle of the night. She sometimes comes with me, sometimes just waits on the bench. But once I am back in bed, she FLIES under those covers. No consideration necessary. And that middle of the night impatience, compared to her bedtime reticence, is hilarious.

Now, I’m off to try to struggle through the setup phase of this thriller so I can get to the good parts. But before I do, some good stuff—

I read 113 pages yesterday, meditated for 35 minutes, and wrote in the journal. I was really grateful for spicy potato chips, and for the Pepcid prescription from my doctor that allows me to eat them.

Love y’all.