For years, Kate has had a pretty predictable pattern of sleep. At least that is true since she started taking Trazadone. That was shortly after her diagnosis just over seven years ago. She used to go to bed between 9:00 and 10:00. She would wake up around 7:00 or 8:00 and get some juice and yogurt. Then she returned to bed and worked jigsaw puzzles. She would get tired and fall asleep for a little while and get up for good between 8:30 and 9:30.
Early this year, she gave up the juice and yogurt routine as well as going back to bed. Her morning routine was rather stable until she got the flu. It wasn’t long after that when she had a lingering cold. I think that upset her sleep pattern. Since then, there have been several times when she has slept close to noon. I woke her up one day about 12:20.
Until this morning, I thought she might be working her way back to a regular pattern. I woke her at 12:25. I’m not entirely surprised. Last night she didn’t get into bed until after 10:00. Once she was in bed, she was talkative. She was talking about how fortunate we are. As she and I often do, she talked about our marriage, our children, grandchildren, and her extended family. I suspected she might sleep a little later today. I just didn’t anticipate how late.
That’s not an unfortunate thing for me. I got in my morning walk and took care of a variety household responsibilities that I have been putting off for a while. Being a creature of habit, I’m just thrown off a bit when I can’t be sure when she will be up. One of the ways I have adjusted is not to schedule anything during the morning. That works well. It certainly did this morning. I’m glad I didn’t have to rush her. Next week we are going to Memphis to spend a couple of days with our daughter and her family. I decided to make it a very leisurely trip by stopping overnight in Nashville. That afternoon we will visit Kate’s friend, Ellen, who is still in rehab after a bad fall. The next day we will have a leisurely drive to Memphis.
Some things are more of a challenge. Two weeks from today, I have a routine doctor’s appointment. I am scheduled for my labs the day before. Because I’m not supposed to eat breakfast before hand, I try to schedule the earliest appointment of the day. That’s not a time when I have a sitter, and I don’t want to get Kate up early enough for us to make an 8:00 appointment. I have scheduled this one for 10:30 and hope that I won’t have any problem getting Kate ready. If it is a normal day, that should be no problem. If it’s a day like today, I may have a challenge on my hands.
