I used to be famous for falling into a deep sleep faster than the speed of light. I could sleep anytime anywhere. From when I was 6 or 7 up to a few years after that I used to promptly go to bed by 7:30 PM. If we were out for a party or a dinner then I was usually found asleep in one corner of the room on a sofa or chair or anything remotely comfortable. My parents had to carry me back home.
My "sleeping" reputation travelled far and wide in the family. Relatives told their kids to go to bed on time like Didi! As school gave way to college, I became famous amongst friends for my notes aka doodles and scribblings...because I was sleeping in class. When I had to borrow notes to complete mine I tried explaining to people that the deadly combination of a monotonous lecture and the dull whishing sound of the classroom fan made me sleep.
I slept in front of the computer during my first job training with a big software company. I could sleep standing in the bus while holding on to the pole. I have slept while someone sitting 3 feet away was talking to me. I have slept in a room full of people watching a movie and in a dance party. In fact background noise and having people around made for better sleep conditions. It made me feel safe!
If this ain't enough I have slept while talking to my husband (at that time my fiance) over the phone. He remembers that till date and makes sure he mentions that as often as possible, especially when people are around. My reaffirmations that I do love him don't help. Can't blame him, what guy wouldn't feel bad about his fiancee sleeping while talking to him. How worse can it get? I have slept in a work conference call and thankfully didn't get caught. But believe me that was just one time ~ it was very late at night and I was tired that day.
Moving on to recent years, after marriage my husband and I went to call upon a set of friends and I blinked a couple of times while sitting on their couch. I fought that lovely, untroubled, warm feeling when sleep engulfs you. But it didn't work and I did end up dozing off for a minute maybe two. The puzzled hosts tried to smile it off. They would have forgotten this solitary incident but for my incorrigible ways. When they came over to our place a few weeks later, I ended up dozing on my sofa! This time they were more than perplexed and offered to leave since I was visibly tired. Fortunately, they got to know me better with time and realized it was nothing personal. And we are great friends to this day.
But now I have to tire myself out to sleep peacefully. Even after that there is no guarantee that I will sleep blissfully through the night. Is it hormones playing hooky, age catching up or is it a side-effect of motherhood?
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