Sleep is my middle name

I sleep like a rock.  It's one of my talents.  I pride my self in it.  I can go to sleep within just a few minutes of laying my head on the pillow.  Usually I say to my Wayne..."Do you need to say anything to me? No?  Okay.  I love you."  I close my eyes, lay flat on my back with one leg folded up like a stork and my hands crossed over my chest like I'm in a coffin.   I breathe in and slowly count to eight, I hold it for four counts, then I exhale slowly for seven counts.  I do this a few times and I'm out.  I sleep through the night, never even needing a bathroom break.

I can sleep with snorers.  I just put ear plugs in and/ or a head pillow over my eyes and folded into my ears and go to sleep.  This is from decades of training, sharing a bed room with another couple for a week at Bear Lake.  This is more of a challenge, but I make it work.

"I can sleep in a car.  I can sleep on a chair.  I can sleep in a meeting.  I can sleep in the air.  I can sleep in the temple or at church.  I can sleep on the beach or in a lurch?" -- Dr. Seuss has got nothing on me.

You get it..... I  sleep.
It could be my middle name.  Melinda- sleeper extraordinaire- Welch.
I sleep.
Most nights.
Until I don't.
Then it's like what's wrong with me?  Why am I still awake?  What did I eat?  What did I drink that had caffeine in it after 2:00?  Why won't my thoughts turn off?  Why does Wayne keep moving around?  Where is the remote, maybe if I watch something?  Where are the scriptures, they always get me sleepy?  I can't believe my Si friend sleeps like this every night.  I have so much to do tomorrow and I need to have my sleep! Why me?  Why?   All the things.

As a young mother I rarely slept through the night.  No fault of my own, just all the littles having crazy night sleeps that I got to be a part of.  I dragged around with tired eyes, tired thoughts and tired self pity.

I know this did me no good and now 15 years away from kid-induced-sleepless-nights I've adopted new thoughts around sleep or more particularly around my sleepless nights.

Instead of getting annoyed about these nights, I have just decided it's not that big of deal.   And guess what, I usually get back to sleep quicker.....or not. And either way it's okay.  I'm genuinely okay with being awake at night and just being with my thoughts and myself.  I look at it as meditation instead of dwelling in self pity.

And in the morning, it's really no big deal.  I might move a little slower and do things a bit differently this day but I can just be tired and not complain about it. Or... I could look for sleep aides- melatonin or ambien ...and still not complain about it.

What's worse?  Fatigue and Self pity or just Fatigue?

As I move through my life coach journey it's fun to adopt ways of thinking that are different from how most of the world thinks.  It's very liberating to understand my thoughts create my reality and my thoughts around "needing sleep" vs "having the perfect amount of sleep for me" help me move through my day with power instead of as a victim of my sleepless night.