By Julie Seedorf, Something About Nothing

I need sleep. That means if I do not sleep well nothing in my body functions well. Without a good night’s sleep my brain is fuzzy, my stomach is upset and I cannot function. It did not always used to be like that.

When I was younger a couple of hours of sleep would do the trick. I could stay out late and not have a problem. I could get up with kids during the middle of the night and still work and watch the kids and enjoy the world. That no longer is true.

It could have something to do with a years-ago diagnosis of fibromyalgia that doesn’t seem to bother me much anymore or it could have to do with age. I know I need my sleep.

I have a friend that has had a hard time sleeping for years. The doctors cannot figure it out but after years of no sleep it is taking its toll on her health. She, too, used to function without sleep. Sleepless nights seem to be a problem for many of my other friends too.

Sambo used to get me up bright and early to let him outside. It wasn’t a problem. Alexis, our former kitty of 14 years, used to wake me in the middle of the night with her antics. I could still fall back fast asleep.

Now if I wake up in the middle of the night for whatever reason sleep usually eludes me for the rest of the night. What happened to resilience?

I have a comfy place to sleep, a room not too warm or too cold and I have enough shades open so that the morning sun wakes me naturally. That seems to work well for me.

However, I did not count on Mr. Moon. It was 3 a.m. and I felt something shining in my eyes. I opened them to see who had turned on the lights. My first thought was:” When did they put a new street light outside of my house? When did they turn it on?” I put my glasses on so I could over the blind thing and see what it was that was shining directly in my eyes and waking me from a sound sleep.

It looked like the moon. Could the moon be that bright that it woke me up? I peered out the window again and then I had to go to the front door and step outside. It was the most beautiful shining moon that woke me up. The moon on this night was that bright and had decided to shine in my window, in my eyes and wake me from a deep slumber.

As I gazed at the moon on this beautiful night it brought me a sense of wonder and peace. Instead of being irritated about being awake I was filled with the beauty of God’s creation. I almost missed it in my need and quest for sleep. How many wonders do we miss because we are sleeping?

I do not mean just the physical act of sleep but the sleep that fills our days where we walk around half aware because of our busy schedule or our busy mind.

Spring is right around the corner. The flowers are waking up, the trees are waking up. Recently a 30,000-year-old seed woke up and produced flowers and seeds. There is unexplainable wonder and beauty all around us if we take the time to wake up and look for it and enjoy it.

During my awake time that night after the moon gaze I had a problem falling back to sleep. Of course, I checked Facebook and it appears many of my friends were awake too. I said good night to my friends and turned my Sleep Pillow app on to my favorite sound on my iPhone and closed my eyes thinking about beautiful Mr. Moon. My discomfort the next morning was a small price to pay for the gift of seeing that beautiful moon.

I know I need my sleep Mr. Moon waking me out of my slumber reminded me that I need to wake up during the day too to all the beautiful wonders awaiting me. What wonder will you see today?

Wells resident Julie Seedorf’s column appears every Monday. Send email to her at thecolumn@bevcomm.net.