5 things to think about at midnight

Once again, I'm borrowing one of Sian's ideas from Blog cos you want to club.

 

Midnight.  It's a multi faceted time isn't it? It can be a glance at your watch while you are at a friend's house which makes you suddenly say: "oh my goodness, look at the time!" Because you've eaten dinner and opened another bottle of wine and are enjoying good conversation in good company and the time has just flown.

Or to can be a quick look at the clock on the bedside table in the dark of the night. With the thought "oh, look at the time, and I'm still awake" and a million things going round in your brain.

 

So here we go, 5 things to think about at midnight.

 

1. It's the first seconds of the new year. Big Ben is chiming, streamers are in the air, people are linking arms to sing Auld Lang Syne, you turn to the person next to you and wish them "happy New Year!" In amongst that moment, I think we are all thinking "what will this new year bring?". There have been midnights like that where I have thought "thank goodness that year is over; that was a tough year. Let's hope this one is better." But thankfully those are outnumbered by those where I have silently given thanks for a year of love and health and friendship, and here's to more of the same.

 

2. It's the first few seconds of Christmas Day, and I have been known to lie in bed trying to recalculate exactly what time I need to get up in order to start cooking the turkey.  What time to par boil the potatoes and when to put the pudding on to steam.  Also hoping that the oven will be large enough for it to fit in bearing in mind we have 14 people for lunch.

 

3. Midnight - when your 17 year old child has just passed their driving test and gone out to friends in the car on their own for the first time.  They promised to be home by 12 and although you went to bed at the normal time there is no way you can sleep before you know they are back safely.  Thoughts of 'where are they?' And 'I'd love to ring them to see where they are but can't as they are driving' going round and round in your head.  Then the flash of headlights through the blinds as a car pulls onto the drive.  A slam of a car door, keys in the front door and a sigh of relief.  They've made it home safely.

 

4. Midnight - the day you are going on holiday. The flight is at 6:00 am, you need to check in at 4:00 am. Taxi is booked for 3:30 am. You've both set your alarm clocks and both set the alarms on your phones. Yet you are still lying there worrying about oversleeping and missing the flight.  No wonder I always sleep so well the first night of my holiday; I've barely slept a wink the night before!

 

5. Midnight - You went to bed at 10.30; you read for a while and turned out the light. You fell into a deep sleep. You wake up and it's still dark. Convinced it must be about 6am you look at the clock. Midnight? It can't just be midnight, surely you've slept for hours? But now you're wide awake. And mentally thinking about shopping lists and things that need to be done next day at work. Or re-running a conversation you've had that's left you concerned, worried or confused.  Thinking about a tough decision you have to make; what are the consequences of various different scenarios?  Realising that you have to put these thoughts on the back burner as there is nothing you can do in the early hours of the morning and things will look different in the morning.  Listening to someone snoring none too quietly next to you and envying them their sleepiness.  Gently nudging them (and sometimes not too gently ...) to change position and stop the snoring so that both of you can get some well earned rest.

 

What things cross your mind at midnight?  Do you have any handy hints on how best to turn off those thoughts so that sleep can take over?