My husband and I have what you would call dueling snooze buttons. Our clocks are set roughly 2 minutes apart. Mine goes off with an alarm, his with music that steadily gets louder if you fail to hit the button. Its difficult to ignore mine, but sometimes with his we just lay there and listen to the music...until it gets loud enough that it might wake our teenager. He gets up later...and he gets his 5 minutes too.
This morning, my husband is away on one of his work trips. Usually that means, I don't snooze. I never snoozed before I met him. Why snooze when he is away? Its not like I need that extra 9 minutes. By the way, I have no idea why it is 9 minutes exactly. I do know this bothers me as I like round numbers. But, seeing as I would have to put my readers on to figure it out, I let it slide. Don't sweat the small stuff, right? Anyway, this morning at 0600hrs, my alarm sounded (his is turned off). Maybe it has become a bit instinctual to hit that snooze button when it goes off. I don't know. And besides, I am not really awake. I hit it...and I roll over fully prepared to enjoy that extra 9 minutes.
Just as I drift back off, I hear a meowing. The cat is sitting next to the bed. "So, when are you getting up? I want my breakfast...now," she seems to say. In truth, she is just sitting there. But she has this stare that goes right through you. I duck my head under the covers and say, "Go away. I'm snoozing. Just 9 more minutes." But what she hears is, "Come up on the bed. I'll pet you for a bit. Then I'll race you down the stairs. We will meet in the kitchen, where I will feed you your favorite. Doesn't salmon sound good?" She meows for a bit longer, then gives up. When the alarm goes off again, she is there, at the top of the stairs...waiting for me. I peek in and tell our youngest his extra minutes has begun, then I go feed the fish. She is as patient as cat can be. She would like to race me, but the new hard wood staircase forces her to be a bit more cautious in her descent. Still, she eventually meets me in the kitchen...where I do as expected...I feed her...even before I make my coffee. She just stares at the food. "Woman, don't you know this is dinner food? I want Philadelphia cream cheese." I walk away, coffee in hand, "Not today fur face." I'm not as easy as dad.
I have been talking so much about eating right and exercising, I forgot to mention how important it is to get enough sleep. I used to have issues with sleep. I was even on Ambien for a time. My husband and I both have significant problems with our backs. I've got the herniated disc, a couple of disc bulges, the straightened C-Spine, early degenerative disease, yada yada yada... A local chiropractor said I'd be in a wheelchair by now (if I didn't complete his pricey therapy program). Is it childish and immature to blow raspberries at a doctor?
My husband's back injuries stem primarily from our multiple Fort Bragg assignments. For years, we suffered. For years, we tried to suck it up and drive on. I spent many a day at the doctor's office, many a night on pain medications. I missed a lot. I didn't have too. All I needed was to educate myself.
It helped immensely when we shopped around and decided to get a better bed. My mother (now in her 80's) has one of those Tempur-Pedic beds that she swears by. We decided to get a Select Comfort Sleep Number bed. The money we would've spent on that chiropractor, we instead spent on a better bed. He likes a firm mattress. I like mine soft. It has changed our lives. Now, even with our old Army scars, we know what it is like to actually get a good nights sleep. So, maybe its okay to snooze a little. Now, if I could just get the cat to understand.
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