It’s dark. Although my eyes are closed, there’s light seeping around the edges of my vision. Is it because it’s just after five am or is it the light from the stovetop? I open my eyes and remember I’m in the living room. I had gotten up around 3:30 to urinate and suddenly remembered we left the water running in the pool. After carefully making my way outside in the dark, turning the water off, I tried to return to my bed, only to toss and turn, hot and uncomfortable, the effects of the drinks at dinner the night before.

Against my better judgement, I sat up in my chair, drinking water and reading everything from emails to Facebook on my iPad, trying to get tired enough to go back to sleep. To my credit, I didn’t play a single game. Finally, after an hour or so, I tried the couch. No luck there either. Reluctantly, I returned to the bedroom, needing the dark and the company of my partner…even if he snored. Luckily quite reigned, so I rolled over and willed myself to sleep. I must have dozed for a few minutes because I dreamed a litter of some kind of animals was born in my guest bathroom. My cat is fixed and was lounging in the sink on her towel as usual. Weird. Awake again now, I pulled the covers up and tried again to fall back to sleep. It never came.