Three months ago Kate wouldn’t get up on a day when the sitter was coming. She was still in bed when I left and also when I arrived home. It was about 4:15 when she finally got up. There have been at least two other times she has slept until late in the afternoon, once until after 5:00. There have been several other days when she has not wanted to get up but ultimately agreed to do so.
When I tried to get her up yesterday, she was resistant. Pushing her never works, so I decided to let her rest a little more. After several unsuccessful attempts, I decided to encourage her. I told her I wanted to have lunch with her and hoped she would get up. That didn’t work at first, but, with a little coaxing, it did.
It was running close to the time for the sitter’s arrival. I put in an online delivery order from Panera. Kate was quiet but enjoyed her lunch. We were still eating when Mary arrived. When we finished, I took Kate in the family room and showed her several of her photo books she might enjoy. Then I prepared for a conference call.
While I was on the call, Kate went to sleep on the sofa and was still resting when Mary left. I went to the sofa and sat beside her. She continued to rest. I told her it was pizza night and asked if she would like to go with me to pick it up. I didn’t get a response. I decided to let her rest a few more minutes.
In fifteen minutes, I tried again without success. She responded the same way she has done when sleeping in the bed in the morning. She was good-natured and said, “I’ll get up in a few minutes.” The problem is that she never does.
I decided to cook lasagna. No, I didn’t make it. I bought it earlier in the week at a takeout place that has usually has two or three frozen dishes they prepare for times like these. Before eating, I asked if she would like to join me. She didn’t, so I went ahead. I fixed a salad (spinach and arugula with blueberries, tomatoes, and slivered almonds) to go with the lasagna. It was an unusually good meal.
After eating, I told Kate is was time to get ready for bed. She didn’t want to move and asked if she could sleep right there on the sofa. I told her that she needed to get to the bathroom and put on her night clothes and then it would be easier to get in bed. I was surprised when she agreed. She was in bed shortly after 7:30 and quickly went to sleep. She was asleep when I got in bed and slept through the night. I expected her to get up early this morning, but she didn’t make a sound when I got up. She is still sleeping at 9:15.
So, what’s going on? As so often happens, I don’t know. I know that it was a year ago that her sleep pattern began to change. Over that time, it has been less predictable than it was before that time. She has clearly been more tired than she used to be. During the past three months that has increased, especially in the past 3-4 weeks. She is not on her feet much before she wants to rest. That often occurs when I give her a tour of the house. She enjoys herself but gets worn out and wants to sit down. As I have speculated before, this may be a natural process as her body begins to shut down. Her doctor seems to think that might be it. Whatever it is, I suspect the fact that she has resisted any exercise must have exacerbated the problem. The good news is that she has not seemed disturbed or frightened. I am eager to see what happens today.
