Make Hay

It is 11:38 pm and I am sitting here because I have been up working for many hours and need to wind down to sleep. My busy season is under way. If the sun is up, so am I. Here in the PNW, that means up at 5, and down at 10.... the sky just got dark. One of my favorite things about living here in the Pacific Northwest is the summer evenings. They last forever. The nights are short, dawn is early. It helps when I have to work and stay alert to have sunlight so long. It can make me a little manic. It is hard to slow down with so much to be done and the daylight burning so brightly.

I have a big day tomorrow. I have started vending at the Hillsboro Tuesday Night Market. In effort to reduce the days I need to vend in the winter, I decided to vend as often as possible in the summer. Summertime is a better selling season for me too. I literally need to "make hay" while the sun shines.

So how do I fall asleep on command? I have never been a good sleeper. However, I have come to learn that caffeine is not my friend. Tonight I had my first dose in months. I am not looking forward to the side effects of anxiety, intense hot flashes, and poor sleep. Without caffeine, I fall asleep easier, but staying asleep is always a problem. I have been known to take allergy meds that cause drowsiness. Sometimes a small serving of carbs can help me get sleepy. Tonight, I am staring at a computer screen, and that will not help. Ticking this off my to-do list provides swill help though. Soon I will lie in bed, slowing my breath, clearing my mind with my mantra "sleep deep, rise wise". It helps me shut off the list making and blur my focus into rest and recovery.

I hope no one is up reading this in the middle of the night. If you are, and need to sleep, go to bed, breathe slowly and deeply, empty your mind, sleep deep and rise wise.