Get Outta My Head!

I've had a couple of pretty restless nights over the last few days. I'll feel really, really tired but then when I lay down in bed my mind starts going and I can't make it stop. I almost grabbed a pen and pad the other night so I could write down and share with you the ramblings of my mind. I honestly don't think there is any other way to convey the insanity that is my restless brain.

This has happened before, many times. It usually happens during the planning stages of a party or right before one or when I have a big project going on. Right now, all of those things apply. It's like a triple whammy. I've got house renovation overload, Lindsey's shower on Saturday, and I'm in the beginning "brain storming" stages of planning a baby shower for my girlfriend. I think it's more than my brain can handle at one time. I have ideas flying in and out, lists being written and re-written, thinking of something neat and then trying to think of how I can actually make it happen... And it doesn't stop at just those subjects. Once the wheel starts turning there is no stopping it and no telling what direction it'll head off to next. I could be on "party planning" and all of a sudden I'm thinking about work and then what I'm going to wear to work the next day, then what we're going to have for dinner the next night.... on and on and on. And usually my thoughts are accompanied by a very annoying song that just won't shut up! It just keeps playing over and over again to my restless body's dismay.

Then, as if the overwhelming thoughts aren't bad enough, throw in the dogs, who sleep in our bed and stretch out to the longest and widest possible position their little bodies can make, and Joe, who can fall asleep two seconds after his head hits the pillow and can out snore a hibernating bear. Sometimes I feel like I'm running as fast as I can on a treadmill and people keep coming up to me asking me questions and I can't stop running and I can't get away. It's very frustrating. On these nights I usually end up on the couch. It's quiet and comfortable and somehow I can usually fall asleep pretty quickly. But, that restfulness only lasts until the dogs come out and jump on the couch to sleep with me.

What is probably the worst part of the whole thing is not being able to remember in the morning all the stuff I was thinking about the night before. Lots of people have told me to get a journal and write my thoughts down and get them out of my head. I've tried it and it did help but it's hard to see in the dark to write everything down. If there isn't already a journal with a night light or a pen with a light on it I think I need to invent them. I'm sure there are others out there who can sympathize with that problem. I know there are bigger problems to be afflicted with than creative thinking but sometimes I wish I could just turn it off when I didn't want to use it. That would make life a lot easier sometimes.