Slow Start Followed by a Recovery

Until the past five or six months, Kate’s sleep pattern had been fairly predictable. She used to go to bed reasonably early (between 8:00 and 8:45) and got up about twelve hours later. Sometimes she rested during the day but rarely went to sleep. The result was a predictable daily schedule for us. We almost always went to Panera and got there between 9:00 and 9:45. Even then, I avoided making any commitments before noon. Now, I find it difficult to predict when she will get up. That and the fact that it takes her much longer to get ready has a significant impact on our daily routine. We often pass up Panera and go directly to lunch.

I had to wake her again yesterday. That made four days in a row. Although she was sleeping soundly the previous three days, she got up with little difficulty. That wasn’t the case yesterday. I started playing music for her at 10:00. At 10:15, I checked on her and found that she was still asleep. I tried to wake her gently several times over the next hour and forty-five minutes. I was able to get her out of bed shortly after noon. She wasn’t ready to leave the house until 1:50 and arrived at the restaurant for lunch after 2:00.

After her shower and before we left the house, she was grumpy. She felt I was pushing her. I obviously communicated that I thought it was time to go. At one point she sternly said, “I’m getting ready.” I said, “I don’t mean to rush you. Well, I guess I really do want to rush you; I just don’t want you to feel rushed.” She laughed. I took that as a good sign. Then as we reached to door to leave, she stopped and said, “I love you.” I think that was an apology.

She was just fine and talkative all the way to the restaurant. She asked how long we had been married. When I told her 55 years, she was surprised and said, “That can’t be. I’m not that old.” I reminded her that we have a daughter who will soon be 50. She asked her name. When I gave it to her, she said, “Oh, she’s married to Greg. He’s a nice guy.” Kate has great difficulty remembering names, but she always recalls his name when I tell her Jesse’s first and last names. Then she started talking about her mother and father and how important they had been in her values. At lunch, she was not as talkative, but she did talk about our meeting at TCU and how lucky we were to find each other. Sometimes, she just says, “Thank you, TCU.”

It was after 3:00 when we got home. A little later, we went out to get our flu shots before going to dinner where we had two separate conversations with people we know. When we got home, we relaxed a while before getting to bed. Kate was in bed by 8:30, but she wasn’t asleep when I got in bed at 9:45. I’m curious to see if I have to wake her this morning and also eager to see how the visit with the sitter goes this afternoon.