Another "Perk" of Retirement

When I was a young working-away-from-home-mother of three, the moment I could drop into bed and lay my weary head on the pillow was heavenly. It was no wonder--teaching teenagers all day, taking care of munchkins all evening along with some housework, meal prep, and clean-up--I lived for the weekends.

When our munchkins became teenagers, there were nights that I lay awake until they were in from whatever activity. There was stuff to worry about with them. Now that they are all happily married, have good jobs, and have munchkins of their own I shouldn't have major worries. Now that I'm retired, I shouldn't be thinking about lesson plans or grades, right? Right! So why do I have these nights when I cannot sleep?

My younger brother says we old people grow hair in our ears which rubs against our pillows keeping us awake. So not true! This is what I believe: As we age, our stomachs revolt and punish us for overeating or eating the wrong foods. As we age, Arthur takes up residence in some part of our bodies. Or maybe as we age and reach retirement, we just don't work hard enough or become tired enough to sleep the night through.

Whatever the reason, my wakefulness last night lasted from 11:00 p.m. (when I woke to my husband's Olympics watching in our bedroom) until 3:45 a.m. He didn't watch TV that long; he actually turned it off about 11:30, but I still went to the loft and still was awake. I got four hours or so of sleep. I'm still up tonight and should be in bed. See ya!