Mostly Absent

I have been mostly absent from blogging for the past couple of weeks, due to dullness. That is, I've been mentally, physically, and activity-wise dull!

There is a favorite line in a favorite movie, The Princess Bride, where two characters are trying to get help for the hero of the story because "he's been mostly dead all day." That's pretty much how I've been feeling. I've been suffering from insomnia and racked up such a sleep deficit that it was getting hard to function at all. Then my crazy blood pressure contributed to the problem. I generally have trouble getting my high pressure down to reasonable levels. But sometimes it takes a plunge and goes low. When that happens it just about knocks me out. I get lightheaded, have a heart arrythmia, and definitely don't function well mentally--my brain needs oxygen!

There have been bright spots. One of our sisters and her husband came to town on the maiden voyage with their new travel trailer. It was so good to spend time with them! Also, I did the wellness blood screening test this week and my levels in all areas have stayed steady. So, I should be OK still as far as not needing to take thyroid medication. And, before the big winds, we got a little more than an inch of rain, spread over several days of everything from hard showers to gentle mistiness. Everything turned a beautiful green. (I hope some of that lasts after the fierce winds of yesterday!)

While being so wiped out, I have been enjoying rereading a favorite series of books (some I've read myself, some I've listened to on audio books), the adventures of Amelia Peabody Emerson. These books are written by Elizabeth Peters (one of the pen names of author Barbara Mertz, as I have mentioned before). I have four books to go in the series, and I'll definitely keep reading to the end. This author is now in her mid-80s and probably will not be writing anything more about these characters, but she has certainly brought a lot of enjoyment to me over many years' time.

My good news for today is that I slept nearly eight hours last night! This was such a commonplace fact of life in my younger days that I would never have imagined it would ever be a noteworthy fact in my life. Remember, if you are old enough, when it was considered a fact that as people grow old they need less sleep? Now I know where that idea (since proven false by researchers) came from. We don't need less sleep, we just have a harder time achieving it! It's fine to tell seniors that it is important to get at least eight hours' sleep per night to maintain physical and mental health. However, being told to sleep that much, and actually sleeping that much, are two very different things! I have not been sleeping 3-5 hours per night just so I could stay up and party. I desperately wanted, needed, yearned for sleep. I tried the various "tricks" that are always recommended to help the insomniac. They did not help.

So, I am grateful for last night's real sleep!