Sleep.

Going to sleep is the most difficult part of moving. There is nothing I can do but be patient as my body learns to recognize this as “my” bed now.

I’ve slept on a lot of different beds/places. I’m amazed at how the subconscious establishes different levels of physical and psychological comfort levels (aka: how quickly one can fall asleep, how ‘hard’ one sleeps, awareness of dreams etc). In my new bed, my body is most comfortable creating a hypotenuse of the bed- completely diagonal. Am I claiming territory?

Dreams during the first few weeks are always bizarre and vivid: goals scored in orange Tri-City soccer shirts; old neighbors delivering flowers at violin recitals; dance partners from around the world, in one club. For what is my brain searching?

My body starts to process the “stresses” of the day. I lay here, my physical body ready for sleep, yet my mental/emotional body still hyper-responsive and just waiting for the next move. It realizes that the people, heat, Arabic, tasks await it tomorrow. Insha-allah.

One consistent element of going to sleep- no matter where I am, it always ends with just me and my thoughts.

Que suena con los angelitos…
Don’t let the bed bugs bite…
Boa noite…
Ma’is-salaama…