Accidental Nocturnalism

Hey,

Today the writing prompt of the challenge is to get real and discuss a struggle I'm facing right now.  Um... we've covered that pretty well, I think.  Therefore, I thought I'd share a fun little story with you instead.

Something I've learned about Flinkman boys in the last several years is that they all have a proclivity for middle of the night action.

Ok, now remove your minds from the gutter.  I'm talking about sleep walking and talking.

I have witnessed Justin get up and ready for work in the middle of the night while the rest of us were watching a movie.  I have heard stories about Jake sitting up and waving at people.  Jered tends to bolt upright in bed and talk.

In my opinion, Jered is an interesting case.  Maybe I'm biased.  Anyway, I think he must have nightmares or something because when he does stuff in his sleep, it almost always completely freaks me out.  It doesn't help that a string of expletives typically accompanies whatever he's doing.  Everything seems more serious when punctuated with those, right?

For instance, one time he jerked the sheet up and shouted, "What was that?!"  (I'm leaving the choice words out for our sensitive eyes.)  This was in our Chicago apartment, where we often found large spiders dangling from the ceiling, so I immediately thought he had felt something gross and creepy crawl over his foot.  Even after I was aware he was sleep talking, I was petrified for the rest of the night.

His actions/words have also led me to believe that he saw or heard someone break into our apartment.  (So far he hasn't grabbed his machete- if he ever does, that will cue the end of it's residence in our room.)

These days (or nights, actually) I can usually tell when he is asleep.  I just talk back to him for a bit, and then try to calm him down.

Last night, we had a hilarious episode.

Again, he sat up suddenly and spewed a fine line of words I can't use here.  Then he leaned back, curled up into a ball, and threw the sheet over his head.

"Jered, are you ok?" (In my best nurturing-mom voice)

"Look above us"  (In a tiny, frightened voice)

"What's above us, Jered?"  (Holding back giggles)

"Wasps."  (In a little whisper)

At this point I couldn't hold the laughter in for another second; I burst.  He peeked out from under the sheet, and I pulled him up into a snuggle, making sure he was now awake, and we relived what he had just done.  It was 2 o'clock in the morning, and I laughed until tears streamed down my face.  We resettled into bed to go back to sleep, and I continued to spontaneously burst into fits of laughter as I kept picturing it in my head.

This morning Jered asked me, "Did you wake me up last night?  I kind of remember you talking to me."

So we got to relive it again as I acted out what he did.  More laughter ensued.

It truly is the little things, isn't it?  I'm so grateful for this silly, little trait of his that can give me a good laugh now and then.  I find it ridiculously cute.  (I'm sure he would hate that description, but I can't help it.)

Well, I hope this glimpse into our lives gave you at least an extra smile today.

Talk to you later,

Aim