Member-only story
The Magic of Falling Asleep
How does one fall asleep? When exactly does the falling begin, and when do we land in the land of blissful snooze?
Every one of us has sleep stories.
The bed- the one we built, the one we saw at Aunt Marge’s and would never own, the bed we never had (I only owned and slept in my own bed when I was fourteen). Those who have beds, at some point loaf having to make it (why bother when we are going to mess it up again). Associated with the bed are our favourite pillows and huggable things, plain or fancy sheets, and maybe a quilt from grandma.
The sleeping — this is storied and layered with the times we jerked awake, rolled over, and fell off, tumbled in frustration when our heavy eyelids battle the manic brain, the sad, wet, angry, dreamy dreams…What we wear to bed, or not, including silly, matching pajamas perhaps, and the whole paraphernalia of oils, masks, socks, and a night light? Then there are sleeping partners, if any, and how they made us feel and interfered with our sleep (we know you don’t mean to). There are behaviours that have become fodder for added mystery, such as sleep walking…
The waking — by bird calls, sunlight, alarm clock, or the parent, we stir or snap awake in many varied ways too, and usually not the same in a lifetime or even a week.