O Bed! O Bed! Delicious Bed- Thomas Hood

Now, blessings light on him that first invented sleep! It covers a man all over, thoughts and all, like a cloak; it is meat for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, heat for the cold, and cold for the hot. It is the current coin that purchases all the pleasures of the world cheap, and the balance that sets the king and the shepherd, the fool and the wise man, even. ~Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote, 1605

I now know why solders are sleep deprived. I know why denying one of sleep is considered a form of torture and why my mother insisted I take a nap at a young age.

Sleep is good for the mind. Sleep is good for the body. I LOVE sleep. When I don't sleep, I am transformed to a horned beastie....with fangs and purple claws...and big feet.

The first night in we did not sleep. The collective 'we', Samantha and I, welcomed the dawn from our east-facing room. Grateful, perhaps that the night was over. Nothing is worse than knowing the world is snoozing away and you're up. We did sneak in a nap- just enough to take the edge off.



By 9:00 pm I would have sold my left foot, confessed to terrible acts treason and bit the nose off of my unsuspecting husband. Ahhh, so this is the true nature of sleep deprivation....I get it.....can I nap now?

Happily, luckily, GRATEFULLY, Samantha drifted off with the help of a couple good meds. I collapsed into the fold out couch in the corner. Will I sleep? Or will I ponder the trivial events of my life. There is no room for trivial pondering, I can see the horned beastie in the corner should I have another sleepless night.

"The feeling of sleepiness when you are not in bed, and can't get there, is the meanest feeling in the world." Edgar Watson Howe

I slept! A good eight hours! Unheard of on the 8th floor. Today I am as sweet as pie (says me.) Thank you, thank you, little sleep fairies.

Samantha slept through the night and is snoozing now too. She is still fighting a fever but the infection had settled in her kidneys and can take a couple days to work itself out.

The biggest injustice to Samantha (well today anyway!) is that her belly was so distended the docs thought she might have a block of some sort. Not wanting to add anymore volume into her abdomen, she hasn't been able to eat until they figure things out. Poor Sammers hasn't had a meal since Wednesday. She is a hungry little pickle. We are hoping, crossing our fingers, that we can feed her today. Sleep last night, food today? It's the little things in life.