Early morning chatter.

I’m an early riser. I always have been, being schooled well as a youngster by my mother that ‘early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy wealthy and wise.’ This did not work out for me personally unfortunately, and as time has past and I have grown older, my waking time has gradually become earlier and earlier. These days, I’m usually awake and up and about at roughly about 06.00am in the morning, largely depending on the resident crows and their escapades outside. Of course, this alarm call tends to alter depending on the time of year, and this morning I was rudely awakened by loud shouting and chattering from my immediate neighbours in the tree outside at about 05.00am.

They have obviously built a nest in the tree outside my bedroom window, and on closer inspection through said window by an irate me, were being plagued by a magpie. I couldn’t tell if he had managed to take a chick or an egg, but he was very persistent, hence the resulting racket going on. I often imagine myself with a six bore shotgun aiming it through the window at those noisy chattery birds outside.

By the time it had all quietened down I was wide awake, and so not wanting to waste the extra time gained I decided to write this post. I am a very light sleeper unfortunately, with strange prerequisites needed for sleep, such as my bedroom being pitch black and no sounds at all. I have always been like this for as long as I can remember, even as a small girl. Too active a mind, not sleeping deep enough?  Being this kind of sleeper does make you dread going into hospital where they tend to keep lights on etc. it usually results on my discharge in me arriving home resembling some kind of zombie, so tired am I from lack of sleep, having spent most nights during my stay pacing the ward corridors usually frightening the night staff to death.

I can remember a period when I was younger, where I hadn’t slept properly for about three weeks, and as I was working on a machine that I wasn’t too familiar with, I was frightened that I would end up with my fingers trapped in it as I swayed with tiredness during the day. Necessity and desperation took me to the doctors who prescribed tranquillisers and sleeping tablets in sufficient quantity to knock a horse out, so that when I took the first dose I was literally out like a light. Quite what caused this inability to sleep, whether I was worried, tense or stressed I don’t know,  but eventually I did return to my normal sleeping pattern.

I do envy those who can doze off at the drop of a hat, on a bus, on a train, in a chair, and unfortunately during my lifetime I have been surrounded by such sleepers, K is one, my sister another, it takes me all my time to drift off to sleep in my own bed never mind somewhere else. Another incident I recall was when we decided to go down to Skegness for a holiday when the children were small, and journey down there via night coach. The whole coach were fast asleep bar the driver and myself. I was absolutely shattered by the time we arrived at Skegness!

Of course, by the time you arrive at my age you have come to terms with your idiosyncrasies, and therefore I tend to lose no sleep over it (pun intended) it’s just the way I am. If going on holiday, or hospital, or anywhere else where I can look forward to having difficulty sleeping, I just accept it and make the best of it. Now who can I get to demolish that tree or lend me a gun?

TG 

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