A cure for insomnia in my living room

I've never been a big insomniac, thank god. To me, nothing in the world could be worse than wanting sleep and not getting it. My mother suffers through this, and listening to her describe being jolted awake by the tiniest sounds (mattress creaking, mice scampering, me sneaking in late...) sounds horrific to me. I enjoy being blissfully unaware as I sleep.


But I've been sick as a dog lately-- a terrible fall cold that has drained me of my energy, appetite and will to live. Seriously, I didn't know it was possible for so much phlegm to come out of one human being.


I was feverishly tossing and turning the other night, realizing that no matter how much NyQuil I chugged, sleep just wasn't going to happen for me. I looked over at Deb, sleeping so peacefully. Time to get up.


5am is so quiet. I've never been so alert and conscious at this hour in this apartment. Betty was completely weirded out that I was up. I realized that I was infringing upon prime "running around like a maniac and making all kinds of noise" kitty time.


I read on the couch for about an hour and didn't feel any sleepier. Just as I had given up all hope for any kind of sleep, I heard Deb stirring. She stumbled into the living room, bleary-eyed and concerned about me.


I tried to convince her to go back to sleep-- after all, she's the working girl of the house. Being unemployed has definite advantages-- namely, being able to sleep all day if I so desire. But Deb would hear none of it.


This is why I love my girlfriend. Anyone else would have seen the logic in that and gone back to bed. But Deb insisted that she could help me sleep-- all I needed, she said, was a change of location and some serious spooning.


So we pushed back the couch, dragged the mattress into the living room and settled in. And despite the fact that it was getting very light in our living room and despite Betty deciding this was a great opportunity to take lengthy strolls all over our prone forms, it worked like a charm. I fell into the most peaceful sleep, snuggled up to my thoughtful girlfriend.


This guesture of Deb's was so touching and perfectly illustrates the quirky, outside-the-box ingenuity of my girlfriend. I can't remember the last time I slept so well.


Until Betty sneezed in my face. But what can you expect from this bunch? She's a weirdo cat, my girlfriend finds cures for insomnia in unusual places and I am quite content to be at home with the both of them.