It was an early morning yesterday... I was up before the dawn

I woke up relatively early for a Saturday morning. This happens often. I wake up sometime between seven and eight a.m., answer the call of nature, and crawl back under the covers. Rarely, I'll go right back to sleep. Usually, one of three things will happen:
1) The dogs need to go out and won't stop bugging me. By the time I take the time to let them out then let them back in, I'm too awake to get back to sleep easily.
2) My mind wakes up and starts writing a blog entry, thinking about the chores of the day, or playing an annoying song over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over... STOP IT! Or I'll take away your stereo privileges!
3) My body wakes up, ready to do something and won't stop bugging my brain to get up.

Yes, I could overcome any of these but it would be at the cost of spousal slumber. Those of you who are married, have been married, or are cohabitating already understand. For those of you who sleep solo, see if you can grok it.

Getting back to sleep once you are awake involves comfort. The first thing you want to do is locate the "comfy spot" on the bed. If you've merely taken a quick trip to the bathroom and are still groggy, the comfy spot is right there where you left it. You simply crawl back into it, make some minor adjustments to body position and is off to snoreville. If your brain activates in the intervening time between exit and re-entry, you forget where it is. If your body awakens, the comfy spot no longer fits. Either way, you have to spend time trying to find a new comfy spot.

Here's how it usually happens for me....

I re-enter the sleep zone and return to something resembling the body position I was in when I left. I start to settle in when, suddenly, I hear, "Lolly lolly lolly get your adverbs here... lolly lolly lolly get your adverbs here." (or some equally obnoxious hook from a song for which I don't know all the words). "SHHH!!" I admonish, then try to let sleep wash over me.

Within 30 seconds, I can start to hear a sound. It's very quiet. I focus my perception and... is that music?... Yes... Yes, I believe it is. What song is it?

I move closer to the sound. It's definately music but I can't make out the words. Blast! It's driving me crazy. I scrunch my eyes and divert all auxiliary power to the auditory receptors, turning my ear toward the sound. What... is... that? I can barely...

"LOLLY LOLLY LOLLY GET YOUR ADVERBS HERE... LOLLY LOLLY LOLLY GET YOUR ADVERBS HERE!"

Gaaaahhh!!!!

"WILL YOU PLEASE TURN THAT OFF!!!"

It goes silent.

Now, my comfy spot has gone sour and I must find a new one. I shift my body position slightly... no good. I shift the other way... still no good. I roll over. That's better.

"Lolly lolly lolly get you adverbs here..."

"SHUSH!!!!"

Dang... now the pillow needs fluffing. [poke] [poke] [shuffle] [shuffle] [fluff] Head down. Breathe in... breathe out... breathe in... breathe out... ahhhh.

Great... my leg itches. I'll just ignore it and it will quit. Breathe in... breath out... breathe in... [itchy itchy] breathe out... breathe in... breathe out... [itchy itchy] breathe in [itchy itchy] breathe out [itchy itchy] breathe [itchy itchy] in [itchy itchy] breathe [itchy itchy] [itchy itchy] out [itchy itchy] [itchy itchy] [itchy itchy]

[SCTATCH SCRATCH SCRATCH SCRATCH]

Comfy spot compromised. Must find new one.

This dance continues until you hear someone say... "Would you just settle down!"

Damn! She's awake. I've started her waking day with her pissed at me... not a good thing.

Now, I've learned to recognize the two internal influences of wakefulness and I just get up. If I get sleepy later I can always take a nap.

This post started out as something entirely different. I was going to get all descriptive about the fog outside and the cat sitting in the window watching me type but I kinda like how this turned out. I hope you enjoyed it.