Life, actually…

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NOW I LAY ME DOWN TO TOSS AND TURN

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In these saggy baggy times it seems that only sleepy heads find relief from the no-see-um irritants of daily life.

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Getting a good night’s sleep is my only defense against the plethora of things I cannot possibly alter or influence.

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Put it to rest, I tell myself.

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So, tonight I have yet another opportunity to gird myself against wakeful challenges…by hoping for a nice snooze.

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Say Hello to my little playbook:

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Ritual is helpful. Most nights at beddy-by time I shut things down downstairs before ascending to bedland, humming shards of an old novelty song, “I climbed up the door, opened the stairs, said my pajamas and put on my prayers…I put out the clock and wound the cat up tight, and all because you kissed me good-night.”

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The lyrics were funny when I was a kid. Thankfully, I know better than to abuse a cat or climb a door or toss out a perfectly good clock. But a good-night kiss from Liz is always welcome.

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Floss and toothpaste and jammies take the ritual all the way to bed and bedclothes and snuggling in. Then, being of unsound bookie-ness, I lie on my side and read from whatever is on the piled-high nightstand.

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Within arm’s reach are stacks of books and periodicals that do not fit the norm of mainstream reading. I need a page or three of something offbeat or provocative in order to jar my mind away from the cares of the day.

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Tonight, it’s a volume of essays by Robert Louis Stevenson. A surprisingly refreshing flow of words includes, “The greater part of poetry is about the stars; and very justly, for they are themselves the most classical of poets.” That’s a thought good enough to cast me among the heavens and lure me into my sleepytime journey.

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I save the page, close the book, rest it atop a precarious tower, snap off the lamp, listen to Liz’s breathing, and drift away to childhood.

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The words to a nighttime lullaby appear from somewhere. The long-ago voice of comedian Judy Canova lulls me to sleep with her closing song, “Go to sleepy, little baby…go to sleepy, little baby. When you awake you’ll patty-patty cake…and ride a shiny little pony…”

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Such fond memories stay with me and tap me on the shoulder at the oddest times, reminding me that the only quest worth my precious time is the daily quest for that shiny little pony

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© Jim Reed 2022 A.D.

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