Early morning adventure with daughter proves insomnia can have a bright side By Maria Martin The Kansas City Star It seems like everyone’s having trouble sleeping these days. I’m no exception, and I’m now more familiar with the wee morning hours than I ever expected to be. In the early days of quarantine, I found myself wishing for bedtime out of sheer boredom. I sometimes crawled into bed at 9 p.m., hoping for entertaining dreams to save me from the doldrums. But one can only sleep so much, and early bedtimes led to insomnia. I’m guilty of wasting the hours when I’m awake, fighting to get to sleep. I spend this time trying to coerce sleep, scrolling the internet, or even worse, ruminating over every concern, and wallowing in anxiety over the trivial. Recently I found myself yawning in the early evening hours, yearning for bed, but I didn’t want to spend the second half of the night wishing I was asleep. I made myself a deal. I would allow myself to go to bed, but if I woke up, I would not waste that time. Rather than doing nothing, I would do anything that could loosely be considered productive. I predictably awoke at 3:40 a.m. At 4 a.m., sleep had not returned, so I slipped on my flip flops and made my way to the kitchen. I kept my promise to myself, and unloaded the dishwasher. My 14-year-old daughter appeared, startling me. She had also gone to bed too early and couldn’t sleep any more. We wiped the counters together and discussed possible next steps. One idea led to another, and soon we decided that we would watch the sun rise. Large oaks surround our home, blocking views of celestial happenings such as sunrises, so we aimed to find a better vantage point. “We could go to the lake and watch from the sailboat,” my daughter suggested. We recently purchased a small sailboat. Getting to the boat requires a 30-minute drive, then rowing ourselves out in our small, inflatable kayak. The temperature was unseasonably chilly, and we would undoubtedly get wet. To watch the sun
rise, we’d have to do this all in the dark. The plan seemed impractical. “OK,” I agreed. An impractical plan seemed infinitely better than no plan. We stopped for fast food coffee and hash browns on the way. Instead of going straight to the boat, we stopped at a dock that provided a better view of the eastern sky. Fog rose above the water and steam rose from our coffee cups into the chilly air. Herons flew by, ducks quacked, and toads hopped across the path as the sky filled with pink, silver and gold before melting to blue. Early-morning kayakers sliced through the still water. We chatted, taking in nature’s early morning beauty. We drove past raccoons and deer on the way to our normal launch, where we inflated our kayak. We paddled around the cove, exploring shallow areas and watching fish jump. We kayaked to our sailboat, organized a few items in the cabin, then watched other boats come in from overnight outings. We chatted about friends, family and the upcoming school year. Our impractical adventure only lasted a few hours, and we were home in time for more coffee and scrambled eggs. Several times she’s mentioned that she enjoyed our adventure, and thanked me. That time was precious, and completely within reach. All we had to do was plan to do something unplanned.
Ellensburg Noon Rotary Club PAVER PROJECT at the Kittitas Valley y Event Center Pavers are a great gift for that person-who-has-everything in your life!!
ON SALE NOW! $100 PER PAVER Includes 2 lines (up to 13 characters per line) of engraving We can accept cash, check or credit card. Order form is available on our Facebook page: Rotary Club of Ellensburg-Noon Club For more information, please contact: Deb Wells, 719-330-6363, wellsdeborah0630@gmail.com Diana Tasker, 509-929-1216, tasker@fairpoint.net 100% of proceeds go towards the project - this is not a fundraiser for the Club.
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