Tonight, I'm experiencing the mental variety. After a day of classes and an evening of cramming for tomorrow's cardiology midterm, the only synapses still firing with any organization are those vital to survival. The rest of my brain is an electrical storm of random activity, causing bits of information to swirl willy-nilly round my head despite my attempts to fall asleep. Yes, I am tired. But when mentally exhausted, sometimes dreamland is the hardest place to find.
Last night, I experienced the physical variety, which I find to be much more pleasant. In fact, there's something wonderful about being good and tired at the end of a active day. I woke up early Monday morning, ran errands, got a massage (which is more like a workout than you'd imagine), and spent 4 grueling hours gripping the steering wheel of my car as I traveled from Grand Rapids to Chicago in whiteout conditions. At one point the stress overwhelmed my usually-pragmatic sensibilities and I found myself alone in my car, screaming, "WHERE IS THE DAMN ROAD?!? I CAN'T FIND THE ROAD!!! I'M GOING TO DIE!!!"
Not my proudest moment, I assure you.
That considered, it was with much delight that I collapsed into bed, my limbs wobbly and my eyelids half closed, falling asleep almost instantly. Delicious.
Emotional exhaustion is another animal altogether, but an equally potent sleep tonic. The dreamless slumber that follows a good cry is our soul's ultimate protective mechanism. When we just can't take any more grief or stress or anxiety, we find refuge by crawling under the covers. Granted, it might not do a thing to eradicate the source of said emotional exhaustion, but occasionally the old adage, "Everything looks better in the morning," is true.
Learned that one from my mommy. Yes, sir-ee.
Somewhat random thought: is anyone else creeped out by the Sandman folklore? I would never, EVER tell a child that a strange man was going to come into their room at night and sprinkle magic dust into their eyes. I mean, who thought that was ok? Is the Sandman a cousin of the Boogy-man?
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