Sleep Deprivation

A horrible habit has been forming in my life as of late. I wake up at about 4:00 every morning. Before you think I'm crazy for doing so, let me assure you that this action is not at all voluntary. If you are one of the unlucky people in this world that suffers from allergies, you probably know exactly what I mean.

Mornings are the worst. By the end of the day, you feel like you might have finally gotten over the symptoms. But instead of sleeping peacefully, you wake up at 4:00 in the morning with your nose running like crazy, your eyes watering, and your throat itching. I have yet to figure out whether allergies or the common cold is worse. With a cold, you wish that all of the congestion would just come out. With allergies, you wish that it would all just stay in.

I've also been having a lot of really strange dreams lately. They are the type of dreams that keep you asleep for a few hours and then make you jolt awake at 3:30 in the morning unable to go back to sleep. For example: I had a dream the other night that Hitler had taken over America. (I have been reading novels about World War II lately so this isn't completely out of the blue.) My mom and I were sitting in some kind of an auditorium listening to Hitler give a speech about world domination when we suddenly heard a loud voice speaking over the intercom. Hitler stopped speaking and listened as the president of Mexico said, "You Americans have underestimated us for the past few centuries and we are not going to take it any longer. Mexican troops have entered your city and resistance is futile. You will all be taken prisoner." We looked out the windows to see Mexican troops and tanks coming up the street. The doors of the auditorium burst open. Mom and I were handcuffed and marched out into the streets with everyone else. We walked through bombed out neighborhoods to reach the harbor where a ship waited to take us far away. I looked to the left to talk to Mom but she was no longer standing beside me. I searched frantically with my eyes but could not see her anywhere and...I woke up just before we boarded the ship. Needless to say, it's difficult to fall back to sleep after you wake up from a dream like that.

With the combination of allergy symptoms and weird dreams, I've been rather sleep-deprived lately. I walk around like a zombie sometimes. My eyes are only partly open, my feet drag against the floor, and I mumble words (even more than usual). Please forgive me if I don't seem totally coherent the next time I see you. Hopefully this explains why.