All over the Internet I spy articles about the vital importance of sleep.
So how've you been sleeping lately? シ
I must say, one of the many reasons I'm happy at Hobbit Cottage is that I sleep so well here. And as Internet articles (here's a short one) tell us, we all need our 7 or 8 hours of sleep.
Rather than just complain about the changes in my body, I'm researching why I'm feeling cranky or stiff or tired or--
--and I'm making changes. Many.
In fact, I've written here before about how to sleep well, but I've tweaked that list. After all, growing older is much about tweaking, making changes, so that we'll age well and stay healthy.
So here's my new and improved list.
1.) I eat one main meal around noon, then something small around 5 p.m. like a bowl of cereal, slice of toast, small bowl of vegetables, spoon of peanut butter or other protein, etc. After 2:00 pm I avoid foods with sugar, including fruits, pasta and rice (even brown). I also don't drink much water after that time.
2.) Shortly before bedtime I take these vitamins:
1 Melatonin (300 mcg)
1 Krill Oil (1,000 mg)
1 Magnesium pill
After that powerful 'bedtime potion' I'm usually asleep less than ten minutes after my head hits the pillow.
3.) Tom and I sleep in separate bedrooms. Now, giggle all you want, but we both sleep sooo much better this way and I believe we're healthier and happier together as a couple for it. (When you're married, it's perfectly acceptable for couples to do anything which works for both of them, critics be darned.)
4.) I go to bed the same time (pretty much) each night. Lately, that's been between 8:00 and 8:30 which--ok--sounds ridiculous. But I love to awaken between 5:00 am and 6:00 because I'm in love with mornings.
How do I still have a social life? When Tom and I get together with friends, it's for lunch, around noonish. Has worked for us for years.
5.) Other contributing factors:
I gave up caffeine (real coffee) years ago. The littlest bit now, even early in the morning, would keep me awake all night. (Update: I occasionally have it, then double my dose of melatonin.)
Comfortable pillows (vital).
A small fan to block out things that go bump in the night.
A pitch-black room (or close).
A window opened just a half-inch for moistened outdoor air (for sinus help).
A comfortable bed.
I take no sleeping medications and don't plan on taking any, ever. I'll just keep tweaking this list if necessary.
If you're not sleeping well, I hope you'll keep seeking until you find what works. Is it a bit of a bother to do all this? Yes, a little. But the bigger bother is to not sleep morph into something we do not wish to be.
Sleep. I have a feeling it's more important than any of us realize.
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Oh, and I always buy the vitamins when they're BuyOneGetOneFree (often using a coupon for an additional $1 or $2 off) unless they're cheaper at, say, Vitacost.com. I wrote out best prices for each on an index card and carry it with me inside my coupon wallet for quick reference.
Krill oil can be found for a sane price at Amazon and Walmart.
"Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else..." Galations 6:4
***
Frankly, insecurity is exhausting.
Trust me, I know. Let's see... while a teenager, I felt insecure about my clothes, my height, my weight (sometimes), my family (who usually I felt at odds with), the way I didn't appreciate the same books or activities my friends did, smart kids, my extreme 'averageness' and the fact that I enjoyed time by myself (people hinted that was strange).
During my one and only year at college, well, that was the peak of my Insecure Years. Let's not even go there.
In my 20's I was married and had a baby. I felt insecure about our homes, our furniture, our finances (though I tried to see saving money as a fun challenge) and how I couldn't seem to find one close woman friend (believing a Lucy-and-Ethel friendship would fix everything). The way women in my church liked different books, music and tv shows than I did made me feel insecure about my own likes. I felt insecure when Tom sang duets with other women, oh, and when everybody else at church went on to have two or three babies while I could only have one.
In my early 30's I felt insecure about just about everything. We attended a church which--looking back--seemed to have a competitive spirit and I became as competitive as the best of them. That led to volunteering for tasks I should have left alone, some failures and some bad feelings between me and others. Things got better, but let's draw a curtain over those years, also.
But in my mid-30's! That's when God got a hold of me. Or I finally allowed Him to. Finally (long story) He became real to me, the friend I'd always wanted (better than an Ethel, even), the Friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Basically, I fell head over heels in love with God and nothing has been the same since.
And over the last 17 years? Wow, I've watched the insecurities shrink away. The awfulness of "comparing themselves amongst themselves" has lost its agonizing power over me and now, if there's any comparing to be done, I compare my own laziness to Jesus' excellence and hang my head over that.
But only for a moment--then I ask for forgiveness and help from Him to move on.
Of course, some of the falling away of insecurities comes from aging and becoming acquainted with ones real self. Of becoming okay about how we're just on a different track than others and learning to truly rejoice when others prosper. Of deciphering what's important and what is not. And allowing people to inspire us rather than intimidate.
And more.
But for me? Mostly it's that good old-fashioned love of God which so flooded my heart that it pushed out the ugly insecurities. The foolish comparisons.
His love switched me over to a different track altogether, one which walks me to a place where I'm (albeit slowly) becoming who He created me to be and being a.o.k. with that woman.
And that's the kind of security I want. His.
************
Now, occasionally an 'insecurity ball' does hit me from left field, but I always say, "Debra! That was so ten years ago. Get over it." ッ
"...wherein He has made us accepted in the Beloved." (Ephesians 1:6)
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My, my, my... Could the weather folks be more wrong? I don't think so.
Months ago they told us--they insisted--this would be the longest, coldest, snowiest winter we'd had in years and years. A real horror story.
Ha! So far we've had the easiest, sunniest, most beautiful winter I remember in all our nearly 19 years in Western New York.
Lesson totally, totally learned.
When weather people make dire predictions, especially ones months in advance, just smile. Be prepared for the worst, ok! But keep expecting the best. Do not allow predictions to bring dread, for dread is ridiculous. Dread is a form of fear and of worry and ruins otherwise perfectly wonderful days. Avoid it at all costs.
Gotta run... Need to go and enjoy more of this glorious sunny afternoon at Hobbit Cottage where everything feels better, even Winter.
And I hope your Winter is amazing, too.
************
