If Only I Could Sleep

The past couple of nights, my sleep has left something to be desired. Last night was particularly rough. I should know better than to watch the "I see dead people" movie right before heading off to count sheep. Every noise in the house seemed strange and ghostly once I turned out the lights. My thoughts soon drifted from ghosts to sleepy dreams and then back to more realistic terrors - had I locked all of windows?? I remember in college a guy waking up a few doors down from me with a man standing over him with a knife. I wasn't about to freak out about that all night, so I got up out of bed and checked the windows. Ahhh, safe. Back to bed. I drifted off to sleep again only find myself in a nightmare. I was in a bank. The teller was evaluating my checking account and voicing to me in a rather high-volume tone that I was going to have be set on a special punitive program because I had not been paying my bills correctly. Sarcastic in my dreams as in life, I asked the teller if she could speak a little louder since I wasn't sure that EVERYone in the room could hear the embarrassing discussion. She said that, of course, she could speak louder. So, I said, "Then, SPEAK LOUDER!"

It was at this point in the dream that I shifted in bed and felt something furry by my leg. I awoke with a start. Grabbed the furry thing and flung it to the floor. Turned on the light. No furry thing to be seen. The door was still closed as I had left i the night before. "Ada", I called. I heard a little mew from outside the bedroom. Hmmm. Where's the furry something? At 2:30 in the morning I found myself investigating my bed thoroughly. Nothing. Maybe I was dreaming that too. Satsified that no animal large or small would attack me in my sleep, I cozied back in to enjoy the last 2 hours before my alarm would go off. Ada wasn't ready to go back to sleep. She pawed and meowed at the door for the remaining hours as I drifted in and out of sleep, distracted by her and by my growling stomach.

What a night. This morning will require some serious coffee.