Sweet Dreams

I can't sleep...
And neither can the kids...
We should be far away, off in la-la-land, dreaming of rainbows and candy and fluffy clouds with flying unicorns.
Instead, the kids are chatting away upstairs, and I'm typing.

It's not that we aren't tired.
It's that we have gotten that unwelcomed, uninvited "second wind."

So many times, the "second wind" is a relief, a joy, a much-wanted boost.  It is what we required just to make it past the carb overload we had at lunch, resulting in a snoozy, drowsy afternoon full of yawns and head bobs.

But, not tonight.  Oh no.  Tonight we would prefer that cozy warm bed that we snuggle down into so we can rest through the night.  But instead, we have become so over-tired that all we can do is run faster on our proverbial little hamster wheels.

We really can't even do much in the way of being constructive with our time.  We are too tired for detail and precision.  Any attempts at intelligence went the way of that time before the "second wind," when we should have gone to bed.

Instead, we waived our bodies' call for rest, and so it responded and gave us more energy, but not necessarily more function.  The function turned off just prior to the "second wind."  And now we are left with slap-happy, punchy giggles, high-pitched rapid-fired talking and the wiggles that would rival a shaken up soda bottle.

How do you nip that in the bud?  First, I'm requiring a long, warm shower/bath and some fresh, new pajamas.  Then when we brush our teeth, I'm hoping that will be able to flip the switch so we can finally sleep.

If not, we'll have to fight through a long day of being tired.  Then, hopefully, we'll flop into bed tomorrow night.

Either way, the body eventually gets its way and gets to sleep.  I just hope we can help it out a little before it shuts down at a very inopportune time- like during a test, or work, or driving...

So, goodnight for now.  Here's to dreams of fluffy clouds, rainbows, candy and flying unicorns.