#3 Insomnia

    My only qualification is that I have raised six children who have turned out to be pretty decent human beings   

I used to sleep like the proverbial baby. As a teenager there was a car accident right outside my bedroom window involving the police and an ambulance. I knew nothing about it until the next morning. Massive storms could not rip me from my slumber.
     Then I had children.
     Broken nights come with the territory. I accepted that when I signed up to be a parent. I embraced the sacrifice.
     Then my kids grew up. Great! I looked forward to returning to the deep sleeps of my youth. WRONG!
No one told me that once your kids are old enough to sleep through the night your own body stabs you in the back. It's called insomnia.
     In the past, as I watched ads about sleeping aids, I used to wonder why the actors were all middle-aged. Now I know. Boy, do I know!
     Generally, I don't have trouble falling asleep - staying asleep is the problem. On nights when it is really bad and I have tried to fall back to sleep for over an hour, I just wave a white flag and get up and read or write. But the specter that I am going to have a crummy day because of severe fatigue, hovers over me. Like a dementor.
     I've talked to my doctor about it. He just nods and says it's my age. Does that mean I will grow out of it? I hope so!
     When my oldest child was a teenager he had a midnight curfew. I stayed up until he returned home to chat about his evening. That's what good parents do, right? I confess that I was guilty of judging other - older parents - for not staying up. Now my youngest children are teenagers who drive and I have repented. Their curfew is 11:30 pm and I struggle to stay up! Plus, I'm worried that insomnia is going to attack, and between the late night and the insomnia I'm going to crash and burn the next day.
     So here is your warning. Middle-age can ruin your sleep. And so can teenagers.

Genesis 31:40
'...and my sleep departed from mine eyes.'