Creative writing submission from the Rest Less community – submit your entry here.
Sleeping is a somewhat hit-and-miss pastime for me these days. I now share the bed with two small (but mighty in every other way) sausage dogs. Every night, I find myself fighting for space and waking to my body at boiling point with two living, breathing hot water bottles pressed into each armpit. Plus, because I’m a very light sleeper anyway, I wake to every rumble, kick, rabbit chase, and fart emitted – none of which are performed by myself. Add to that my own bladder and I’m lucky if I get four hours straight on any given night.
Before my bed was taken over, I’d started to sleep with one leg thrown over a giant U-shaped pillow to support my arthritic hip. It allowed me to sleep in the recovery position and helped with my pain. It was great, a real find that genuinely made a difference.
Willow and Bear
When the two little beasties first joined me, I found it both cute and endearing that when we settled down for bed, they’d instantly join me. They’d lie on top of the pillow on either side of me, their little heads resting on my chest while I read for an hour, swapping hands to take turns gently rubbing their little, soft, silky tummies.
It wasn’t just sweet and endearing, how close they wanted to be with me, it was Dachshund therapy; fostering relaxation, lowering blood pressure, and flooding my endorphins with unconditional love. I confess, it was (and still is) heaven. That first hour when we enter a freezing cold bed together and slip under the quilt to cuddle down, warm and peaceful, me and them against the world. I wouldn’t swap it for anything. It’s just…later!
Who would’ve guessed that seven months on, they must’ve had a secret conflab under the covers and decided on a hostile takeover bid? We’re in the negotiating phase right now, each pushing backwards and forwards with our ‘non-negotiable’ points, as they give an inch and I seem to lose a mile. The problem is, just as I try to stand firm, they do something endearing or make me laugh, and I crumble.
Before I know it, they’re stretched out along the part of the pillow where my knee needs to go, their little paws cutely tucked under. Or, in Willow’s case, stretched across my face, head, or chest like a 1940’s fox stole, heat pumping through her from the tip of her nose to the end of her tail and straight into me. Even our compromises aren’t working. As I wait for the soft thumb of sleep to take them, I carefully manoeuvre them to the foot of the bed, but before I can turn on my side and hoof my leg over the pillow, everything has changed.
Bear has (by osmosis) got back up the bed to the exact spot on the pillow where my knee requires support. And Willow has sidled up my back, up over my shoulder, and buried her head in my hair, like a ninja heat wave as her warm, wet dog breath filters down my face and neck. No! I scream silently as I’m forced to remove her, sliding her back down the sheet, only for her to wait until I’m just dropping off, and back up she comes!
Well, last night I thought I’d found a solution to the Bear conundrum as, needing to turn over, I very gently slipped him down off the pillow as I carefully brought my knee up. I must’ve dropped off and, pushing the covers off me, I was able to keep Willow at waist height (she demands to be covered) – but then it happened!
Somehow, we’d all managed to shuffle over further than I thought. As my poor little Bear rolled over, there was a ‘plop’ as he rolled off the side of the bed and straight onto the rug on the floor. Now, my bed is very high as I have a double thick mattress and a topper. It’s too high in fact for a little dog to even jump up.
The good thing is, beside my bed, I have a thick fleece rug on top of the carpet. This was a godsend as my precious bundle rolled off the edge of the mattress into oblivion. The other plus was that, completely asleep, his little body was totally relaxed and so (I’m hoping) his landing was less traumatic to his little person than it might’ve been.
Of course, being a very light sleeper, I think my hand went out to try and catch him before he’d even landed – but I was too late. Flicking on the light switch and peering over the side, I saw two startled, beady, little brown eyes looking back at me as he lay on his back, with four legs up in the air, and his ears out as if he’d been flying. “Oh, Bear!” I said immediately. “I’m so sorry!”
I quickly lowered myself down onto the floor beside him and scooped him up into my arms. The look on his little face was (and trust me, I feel guilty saying this) priceless. He was clearly totally unaware of how he’d got there and what had happened, just cognisant of the fact he was no longer in bed, warm and secure under the covers. In my arms, he shook his head as if trying to place himself and then looked around the bedroom to get his bearings.
Hopping back into bed, I held him snuggled in my arms as Willow came to check on his wellbeing (they’re very close). Thankfully, it appears no harm was done, but the guilt was, and is, enormous.
When I went to the Arctic, I was horrified to discover that all the beds in our hotel were singles – I’ve slept in a king-sized bed since they were invented! I rolled over and fell out of bed (onto a hard, wooden floor) almost every night. It was horrendous, and so my heart went out to my baby boy. We snuggled back down into the bed and with my reluctance to let go of him, I was forced, out of fairness, to embrace Willow in my other arm, flat on my back.
I think I lost a major battle last night as I can’t imagine going through that again. Dogs with long spines are vulnerable and we can’t be rolling out of bed on a regular basis. So, I’m afraid, my fate is probably sealed. They both went back to sleep and slept right through the night to eight o’clock. As for me, well, let’s just say, I’ll be seeking an afternoon nap!
Are you feeling creative? We are proud to have a hugely talented community on Rest Less, which is why we’re so excited to open up a section of the site dedicated to showcasing the wonderful and diverse writing of our members. If you have a piece of creative writing that you’d like to share with the Rest Less community – you can do so here.