Z is for ZZZZ's

"No day is so bad it can't be fixed with a nap."

Carrie Snow

Here we are half-way through the month of May and I'm still not finished with April's ABC project. There was a time in my life when I truly believed that I was not only self-motivated, but that I could take down an octopus when it came to a multi-tasking contest. Ha! Those were the days my friend. Today, as you have sadly noted, I'm more of a starter than a finisher.

In this case, I have a wee bit of an excuse. About the time I was going to write my last alphabet post, we had another medical emergency that led to four days in the hospital. The last time I kept bedside watch I was able to pick up wireless signals and maintain my finally honed writing schedule. Alas, while the hospital is undergoing a management change, there is no computer service for guests. (Hospital guests! Like people go to there for a vacation, perhaps expecting chocolates on their pillow instead of IV fluids hanging from a bag over their heads.) As the title of this post suggests, whenever I was near enough to the Internet to actually post anything, I could only think of taking a hot shower and a long nap - in that order.

Even though Dad is home now and regaining his strength, I still feel like a "z"ombie and can think of little else than sleep.

Before the whole hospital thing, I spent a few nights lying awake listening to my sweetie try to breathe through snot encased sinuses. He'd tell you, and I can't deny it, that I'm the serious snorer in our family. Truth be told, however, he is no snoring slouch. He says I sound like I'm sawing down trees. He, on the other hand, sounds a bit like a big North wind blowing cold air through the uncut forest.

Let me try to describe it. Because of his sleep apnia, he takes in a breath but his airway somehow closes off so the air he just took in kind of hangs around inside his lungs until he can't hold it anymore. Then, just when I'm about to wake him by pounding on his chest to begin CPR he explodes with a giant sized gasp that sounds like Old Faithful erupting. When you add the bronchitis and clogged sinuses I liken the expulsion of air to that of rutting moose butting heads ... snort, whack, ca-thunk. Although my sweetie might disagree, I suggest that my log sawing is like a gentle walk in the park compared to the all-night coughing, sneezing, wheezing of a man with COPD.

Having said that, I think I should let the subject of sawing z's rest (pun intended!) If there is to be a contest of words about snoring, I'll surely lose!

And with that I am finished with my tribute to the ABC's.

Without the sing song tune that all preschoolers know by heart, my version of the ABC's is rather like driving across Texas; have you been wondering if it will ever end? But here's what I've noticed by going back and reading some of the posts. It might just work as well or better than Tylenol PM as a night time sleep aid.

Imagine:

Your tired body aches for rest. You've taken a hot shower, and generously slathered your weary limbs with the theraputic, sleep-inducing balm of lavender oil. Before climbing into bed you fluff the pillows so they are just right. You smooth the sheets and re-align the quilt. You crawl into bed, pulling up the covers to your chin, equalizing the temperature. As you inhale deeply your muscles begin to relax. But your mind has not yet turned off the day's activities. You decide to slow your brain activity with some light reading. You pick up my published (remember, we're imagining!) ABC book. As the cat circles a few times at your feet, trying to find the exact spot on which to recline, you adjust the lamp just so. The dog, already in the prone position, has to scratch behind her ear a few more times. Then you open the book and skim the first few words ... "A is for action" you read as your eyelids close to half mast. By the time you get to the third sentence on the second page you're gone.

Sleep! Ahh, glorious sleep! Now that's what I call a great book!

Some other z words:
zany
zipper
zippity do dah
zap
zinger
zoo
Zaire
ziti
"Z"ainab Salbi (Founder and CEO, Women for Women International; Author of Between Two Worlds: Escape from Tyranny: Growing Up in the Shadow of Saddam and The Other Side of War: Women’s Stories of Survival & Hope.
Every once in a while a new voice emerges with the power to change the world. Zainab Salbi, activist and social entrepreneur, is such a voice. Ms. Salbi inspires and moves audiences with the passion of her personal experience as a survivor of war and her dedication to rebuilding communities after war, one woman at a time.)


My "brother" Georges and his new fiance, Nayla "Z"awahra (Are they cute or what?)

Signing off and hoping wishing for you blissful sleep,
Merry ME