A Restful Night's Sleep...

As highly independent individuals we often take for granted the things that we need in order to have a restful night’s sleep.  Think of your own routine as I go through a typical evening at my house.

The girls are tucked in.  We’ve sung our lullabies, said our prayers, and as I leave their room I say, “Goodnight.  I love you.  See you in the morning.”  (Just a little side-note, if I don’t do those things in the right order and say those exact words, they will call me back into their room…which usually wakes up the baby, so we must start over.  But I digress).  I make sure Sam is content, usually chatting with friends or playing a video game.  Now it is my time.  I head straight for my closet, grab my comfy pajama pants and either my comfy pajama shirt (or one of my husband’s because I like the smell of him 😊) and head to the study (that’s what we call the bathroom).  After taking care of business in the study, I wash my hands, face, and think about brushing my teeth.  You see, I often like to have popcorn with my husband after I’m all comfy, so if popcorn is on the agenda, I’ll wait to brush my teeth until later.  Popcorn is on the agenda, so I head to the kitchen and get it ready along with a big glass of ice water and a little piece of chocolate (I am a firm believer in having a little sweet with your savory).  While the popcorn is popping, I’m turning off lights and checking the laundry.  Then it’s time to snuggle with papa (that’s my husband), watch some television or read, eat our snacks, he’ll scratch my head, I’ll rub his back, we’ll get dozy and decide it’s time to go to sleep.  Now comes the last trip to the study to brush the teeth, Michael will turn on our fan and turn off the light.  I’ll rest and continue watching our show while he snores.  When Sam comes in to say goodnight (we have a control on our internet that lets him know it is time for bed) then I can finally get a restful night’s sleep…unless the baby is teething 😊

That was a lot of words for something so simple as going to sleep, but for me to rest, I need those things to happen.  I must know my children are resting, I absolutely must be in comfortable clothing, Michael needs to scratch my head, and if the fan isn’t on, I won’t be able to sleep.

What does your loved one need to get a restful night’s sleep here?  We want them to be comfortable and feel as at home as possible.  If your loved one needs a fan or sound machine to sleep, let us know.  If they always read Janet Evanovich, watch the local news, and head to bed; we can help with that.  But one thing we do need is for everyone to have a comfortable pair of pajamas (or two).  If your loved one does not have pajamas here, please bring in some for them.  We are no longer using hospital gowns overnight because we are not a hospital.  We want to feel like home.  If you have any questions, please reach out to Kate or Alanna.