"Had a cat, and the cat pleased me..."

Do you know that song? "...I fed that cat by yonder tree. Cat goes fiddle-eye-fee." Today I just want to sing the praises of my kitty. He's huge, floppy, furry, dopey, crazy, noisy, silly, and he loves me. 

This week, by whatever sixth sense kitties possess, he has been doing two things my children used to do when they were young. About an hour before I have to wake up (cats tell time, did you know that?), he either climbs into "my nest"--the area created when I lie on my side with my knees bent--OR, he walks along the side of my body, stretches himself out to his full length, and then sleeps that way until it's time for us to get out of bed.

When I would reach the point of exhaustion as a young mother, I would stretch out on the couch next to where my girls were playing, and one of them would invariably climb into my nest, or stretch along my body. This comforted me in a deep-down-in-my-soul way. The fact that George has begun doing this during this particularly trying week has been a real gift. 

So thank you, Georgie-Porgie. "The cat pleased me."

Struggling to find it

Today, I have to admit I'm struggling to be grateful for anything. It's only because the harvest moon has been beautiful, but deadly, the past three nights. Full moons disturb my sleep cycle (call me crazy, but I KNOW it's true!), and this one has been a doozy.

Three nights of frantic dreams, multiple awakenings, cardiac arrhythmia--the whole shebang.

So today I'm going to make a conscious effort to be grateful for EVERY LITTLE THING. Since I'm crabby from lack of sleep, it will take work to find anything good. But I pledge to do the work!

Let's talk about sleep.

As a person who has always struggled with sleep, I am really grateful for both the quality and quantity I've been able to get this summer. I think part of my success is that I've finally managed to stick to a "sleep schedule." For the most part, I have learned (the hard way) to be very consistent about bed times, even in the summer. Now, the next 3 weeks will test that, as I need to resume a late-night-theater schedule. But I have to say, overall, this summer has been great for getting quality sleep.

That doesn't mean I don't feel tired--far from it! Actually, the more I have to do, the more I want to sleep. But I'm guessing that's primarily a psychological thing--I'm a lifelong procrastinator.

Anyway, here's to sleep!