Moonlit Pasture
It is fine to see the neighbor’s pasture at night under the light of the moon, even at a glance. I know this because of my tendency to pop awake at three in the morning. I dislike being awake at that hour so there’s no dawdling when I go look at the pasture. I do it for one reason. It’s usually cool outside and being cool helps me sleep. It worked last night. The night air was cool and the waxing gibbous moon bright. I got my chill and went back to bed.
Of course, maybe the beauty of a moonlit pasture helps calm my spirit because there’s probably more to being awake at three than I realize. A turbulent spirit seems a likely culprit, or maybe I like looking at the pasture so much that my mind says, hey, you should see the pasture tonight. And I do because it wakes me up to go look. I’ve never thought of it that way before, that I’m getting up because I like it. Odd thing to think about. I have no idea how to combat that.
I guess it’s lucky I can ignore my alarm, which is what I did this morning. You might ask why a retired guy is setting an alarm, and I’ll tell you that routine is part of getting a good night’s sleep. I go to bed around 9:30 and try to get up at 5:30 to write. Because I like to write in the early morning before the day starts. I sort of wish I was writing a magnum opus, and one day I might start, but I’ve been at this for seven years and so far the truth of my life as I see it has kept me occupied.
John W. Wilson is the author of The Long Goodbye: A Caregiver’s Tale