Day Twenty-Seven: A Problem That I Have Had

Day 27 of the 30 Day Writing Challenge 

Day Twenty-Seven: A Problem That I Have Had

       I'm not sure where to go with this. A recent problem? A long-term problem? A math problem? Okay, now I'm being facetious but you get what I'm saying. Off the top of my head I can list a couple of things: polycystic ovarian syndrome, a baby that won't sleep through the night, phonephobia, fear of heights... Well, that last one I still have so I guess it doesn't count. I also still grind my teeth at night, so that's out...

      Okay! How about sleepwalking, night terrors and sleeptalking? It's been awhile since I've done any of those things. When I was young I had a lot of night terrors. I would wake up screaming bloody murder. It would scare the pants off my parents. Then, when they would try to comfort me, I would scream even more. I never remembered anything. The pediatrician said not to try to wake me up but gently lay me back in bed. I thought those days were long gone but shortly after I got married when hubby and I were traveling all over the place for his job, I had a night terror in one of the hotels we were staying at. My husband was freaked out to say the least. On top of his own shock he didn't want our neighbors to think I was being murdered so he tried to quiet me down, which of course, didn't work. I don't remember any of this.

        I was also quite the sleepwalker. One morning I woke up and found my shoes placed neatly beside my bed. Another morning my mom went to take a shower and nearly jumped out of her skin when she discovered my over-sized stuffed leopard in the tub. At a sleepover at my cousin's house I apparently got up and started playing the piano. (Whenever I tell this story people ask me if I was actually playing a song or if it was just plinkety-plink-plink but I don't remember what my cousin said.) My sleepwalking got to be so consistent that my parents were afraid that I would eventually try to leave the house. Child-proof doorknobs were discussed but I can't remember if my parents ever went through with it. My mom says sometimes I would come out of my room and would appear completely awake, eyes open and everything. But if someone spoke to me or if I spoke to someone else I would mumble or say something nonsensical. The pediatrician told my mom that like a night terror, a sleepwalker should never be woken up. Instead, gently guide the sleepwalker back to bed.

        Sleeptalking was also a common occurrence. I'm pretty sure I still do this from time to time but definitely not as often as before. It felt like my mom was always saying she heard me talking in my sleep the night before. I didn't like going to sleepovers because I was afraid I would talk in my sleep (and because I was often homesick but that's another story). My mom explained to me that when a person talks in their sleep it's because they're trying to come to terms with things that are happening while awake. I guess I had a lot on my mind! So instead of acting out or throwing temper-tantrums I would mumble, speak, yell or cry in my sleep. Most of the time I don't remember anything I've said but sometimes bits and pieces come back to me. Sometimes I would even wake up mid conversation (because I was always talking to someone in my dream). Most recently I remember dreaming that someone was holding onto me but I couldn't see their face. Very upset, I kept saying, "Who are you??" Then I woke up and it was my hubby trying to console me. He said I had been crying and thrashing around in bed.

       These idiosyncrasies aren't problems per say but they're definitely not good things, either. No one ever says, "Gee, I wish I was a sleepwalker!" or "I admire people who are capable of night terrors." I guess you could say that they're just a few more pieces to the puzzle that is me!