We didn’t make any plans the day before, we just knew the week of New Years would involve the kids taking skiing lessons on a local hill. We didn’t know how tired they might be after their lesson so we decided to play it by ear and see how everyone felt.
The night before we’d tried and failed to get into the new Star Wars movie. Everyone was a bit down about that so I thought why not go to the theatre because no one else will be there, right?
Who goes to the theatre on Dec 31? Well, everyone. It was full and by the time it got out I was elated to be reunited with my friends Han Solo and Princess Leia. Then I went home and disappointed my honey by announcing I wasn’t going to stay up to midnight. Not even close.
I take my medication for bipolar disorder every night at 930. Usually, on New Years I would celebrate with friends and stay up to midnight, having several alcoholic beverages and then not be able to sleep until well into the wee hours of the morning, taking more meds and generally having a horrible time rolling about in the covers by myself, caught in the dreaded trap of insomnia.
So this time I decided to give my medication a chance and have no alcohol. I guess it’s a new thing because it’s socially acceptable even encouraged to have a few drinks, especially on Dec 31. But by abstaining (and it’s taken me 8 years to figure this out) I had the most blissful 9 hour sleep of my life.
And perhaps that was the best way to celebrate of all. Not just managing my health by taking my medication but thinking about the best way for it to work and so I’m becoming a one drink wonder. Before 730 p.m., or not at all. It feels good to start the New Year by listening to what my body needs most, sleep and a soft place to rest my head.
J.E. Reddington 