Saturday, July 18, 2009

My new habit.

I have gotten into a new habit recently. It is one I think I inherited from my parents. Or at least I know they do this too. I get up in the wee small hours of the morning and read. My parents tell me they do this because when you get old you just get insomnia. I have often, when at their house, woken up at 4:00 a.m., with a baby or sick child, to find my parents both out in the front room reading. My excuse the last few weeks is that I wake up for the 3rd or 4th time to use the facilities and then lay in bed for an hour or so tossing and turning because I can't seem to find a comfortable position any more. Either that or woke up from some strange dream and can't stop thinking about it. So what do I do instead? I go out in the living room, turn the reading light on, plop myself in the lazy-boy, prop my feet up, cuddle into a blanket with a light read. I then read for the 45 min to hour I used to toss and turn and then I head back to bed, fall back into dreamland quickly, and for another few hours get some good hard sleep. It has actually been wonderful. I feel more rested in the mornings. And I have been able to reread a few old favorites. 3 books in one week is doing pretty good for me.

As I said, the books I have been reading have been "light reads". Which usually means I have read the book before and know the story well. But I have also thrown in a few that are new to me as well. After watching Northanger Abby on PBS last week I decided to give that Jane Austen book a reread since it has been some years since I read it last. Then when I finished that one I pulled out Sense and Sensibility since I hadn't read that one since watching the new BBC production of it and just wanted to compare the book to the film. I was then going to pick up Pride and Prejudice or some other Jane Austen when I had finished but I saw my Elizabeth Gaskell books sitting next to my Jane Austen books and decided to reread Wives and Daughters instead. I got through a number of chapters of this book but then went to the library and picked up a book that came in that I had put on hold a few weeks ago, Shannon Hale's new book The Actor and the Housewife.
I just picked it up on Thursday's library trip and here it is Saturday morning and I just finished it. (A fun read! But it also had me crying in some places). So I will be returning to Wives and Daughters today and even through the book is thick, I think I will make it through it rather quickly too.

I don't know if I really want to say I enjoy this new habit. It would be better to just not wake up several times in the night. I guess if I am going to wake up, I might as well use that time visit some of my favorite characters.

4 comments:

Montserrat said...

I have always gotten up early in the morning (well most days) because I just don't seem to need as much sleep as other people do. I love reading in the very early morning when the house is quiet but the birds are just starting to sing.

Hope the baby comes soon!!! And all goes well.

Angela said...

I used to get up early and read, I really miss that habit. Now I just snooze and snooze. I just said yesterday at Church that I need to reinstate that fabulous habit. Thanks for the reminder-

Michal said...

i see on your ticker that you have 3 days to go, and since you haven't posted in a few days, maybe your baby has come now! i have been getting up to watch movies in the middle of the night lately. okay, actually, i watch the movies to keep me awake while i nurse the baby!:) i wish i was like cocoa and just didn't "need as much sleep as other people do." not so.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.