I blame my son. And the dog. The one has kept me operating at full pelt for the past two weeks… the other isn’t well and needed cuddles. I was only supposed to be sitting down for ten minutes while I had a coffee.
The day had started at five so I could get to my son’s for seven. With an early appointment on his trike, he needed to be up and moving. Ani took this time-constrained moment as her cue to start being sick… and rather than finding a spot in the garden where she can be ill on her own, she goes all puppy-eyed and seeks my presence and the reassurance of my hand in her fur.
I got her settled and headed off, arriving ten minutes late. The usual morning unfolded, but finished a little earlier than it would on a regular basis. A quick fly by at the supermarket, then home hours earlier than is normal. Luxury! I could catch up!
But not until I had scrubbed the rug and reassured the poorly small dog, who was terribly upset, cowering in the corner as if she expected censure instead of cuddles. I tidied up a few quick jobs on the PC, did the housework… having run out of coffee spoons it had become a necessity… and made a cuppa. The small dog looked so piteous curled up on the sofa that I thought I’d sit and cuddle for a few minutes. Then I had the whole day before me….
…and slept through it.
I reckon about seven hours.
I woke to feet numbed by the weight of a warm dog, expecting it to be about lunchtime…
So much for catching up then…
It seems to have done us both good though in the long run. Ani ate a late but hearty dinner of chicken then went out to bark at sparrows. Feeling better then. I felt I would sleep too.
Once again, nature had overridden any plans I had for working and, although I do have a lot to do, I will come at it fresher for the sleep I know I needed. We are not always good at listening to our bodies. Not always through choice, of course, but there is only so long you can resist the body’s requirements before it pulls you up short. Our society is geared to an unnatural cycle, regulated by the clock, instead of the sun and every so often we are reminded of that.
Today has been all about listening, from music, to words, to fatigue… it has been a constant set of reminders and when they come so thick and fast, I know I need to take note. Half the time, we don’t even listen to each other, let alone to those subtle prompts that life gives us. We hear the words, nod sagely… may even answer… but do we really take in what is being said? Do we listen below the surface of the words, or with sufficient attention to note the details or remember the more than the essence of a conversation? Do we act on what we have heard?
Not always… we recall those parts that are pertinent to us, the things that fit within the way we would like to see the world move…our world… and the rest slides from memory as swiftly as a dream. Leaving only a vague impression to be called up and clarified when what we have missed bites back.
Today my own body bit back and I slept, losing the hours I intended to work… maybe I need to sleep more….
Sue Vincent's Daily Echo 
So true… hope you are rested and now listen more 🙂
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After a good night’s sleep too… I now feel exhaisted… maybe i’m missing the adrenaline…or the caffeine 🙂
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The more you rest, the more tired you get… or something like that.. 🙂 Get back on the caffeine, LOL!
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Already on it, Florence 😉
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Sue, good you did sleep, and Ani too! Women need more sleep than men, apparently at any age. I keep this thought, listen to your body, it’s the only one you get! Christine
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Ah… that would make sense 🙂 Yet most of the time, we don’t get it, do we, what with children.. 🙂
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Glad to hear your both on better form, Sue. Most days I lie down at half one in the afternoon and rest until two o’clock – does me the world of good. (although I did once wake up at ten at night just as Husband was getting into bed!!) Then I wrote all night – took me days to get to rights again! Jx
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I think siesta should be part of the writers armoury… not likely to happen though 😉
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I’m glad Ani recovered from the bout of illness.Sometimes all you need is cuddles to help with that. Not much good when you need sleep though I suppose. The best thing to do then is sleep and let nature take over. You obviously needed it just then so housework can be forgotten. All you have to do now is recover from the sleep which will upset your natural cycle.
xxx Huge Hugs xxx
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I’m shattered this morning… sleep overload 🙂 No doubt it has helped though 🙂 xxx
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Glad to hear Ani is better, but It looks like your body isn’t used to the extra sleep. I’m sure it will adjust given time. You probably shocked it. 🙂
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I probably have! Can’t remember the last time I slept that long and was still well 😉
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Sleep some more! And here’s hoping that Ani is recovering, too. xx
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Work to do! Ani seems better after cuddles and chicken. x
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Your body spoke in bell-clear tones, Sue – great post. Hope Ani is better now – and you, of course. xxx
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The chicken seems to have helped her ladyship. I’m just waiting for the surgeons x
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Sometimes we need these timely reminders that we are not in charge, our bodies are, and we ignore its messages at our peril. Something I am constantly aware of, now old age has descended on me.
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My son was less than comforting about that… tell you later 😉 x
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Reblogged this on Anita & Jaye Dawes.
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You body and your brain needed the sleep – you will feel better for it, even if it doesn’t seem so immediately afterwards. Glad to hear Ani is feeling better.
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Ani worried me more, Mary. But I know I couldn’t keep running on empty x
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I hope you start feeling better Sue, and glad that Ani has recovered well. 🙂
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So am I, I hate her being unwell… Thanks Judy x
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Poor you, (and Ani), but you both clearly needed it.
Since my health took a tumble in 2008 and I spent two bouts of time in hospital with pneumonia and I did some serious rethinking and re-calibrating in my life. One of those things, and probably the most important, was that I would start living by my own body clock instead of society’s clock.
Our bodies know what they need, (lets face it they keep us alive against all odds), and we owe it to them and to ourselves, to listen and respond accordingly.
I now sleep when I’m tired…eat when I’m hungry etc., and it seems to make a lot of sense.
Be well, BREATHE…… and Keep smiling 😊
Darren.
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I do most of that too… apart from the sleeping. I need to listen more. 🙂
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Our bodies hold the truth … Listen 🙂
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Yes… I should. Far more often. 🙂
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Clock needed a reset I guess – good for you! 🙂 Glad both you and Ani are back in sync. 😉
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So am I…especially Ani 🙂
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