The visitor effect - Part 3 (cats ahoy)

This will be the final post about the visitor effect - the visitors have now gone. But an interesting aspect of sleeping next door needs to be told.

Even though I don't share my bed with another human, I do share it with two cats. They are called Maddie and Lyla. They are sister, tiger tabbies, who often like to share a sleeping space. More often than not the girls sleep with me - not every night, and not always both of them. The cooler months often have Maddie requesting refuge under the doona in the wee hours of the morning, but Lyla always keeps herself above the covers.

I like that my cats like to sleep with me. I think they chose me more often than my husband because I am a calmer sleeper. We all pick our spots and tend to stay there for the night. The arrangement works well for us all.

However, Lyla was none too pleased when I went next door. As a brief background, Lyla does spend some time next door, but usually during the day, or if we are next door for dinner, she will come for a visit. Her antics when we are over there are quite entertaining - for both us and our neighbours - and fortunately the neighbours don't mind her coming in to the house.

After turning off the lights on the second night I was next door, Lyla came to the front door of the house and began to demand entry. Being the sucker that I am, she only had to carry on for 10 mins before I let her in. Upon entry to the bedroom she jumped up on the bed, padded around, and promptly fell asleep. And there she stayed until the morning.

So for four nights of the six when I was extreme sleeping, Lyla did some extreme sleeping next door too.

Fighting for space on the bed.

The visitor effect - Part 2 (or extreme separate sleeping)

I have told many people about my house-hopping bed solution for the last week. I must admit that I enjoy the range of reactions that any story about sleeping separately to my husband evokes. The latest configuration of sleeping arrangements has, I believe, been viewed as a bit extreme.


Of all the times I have explained the decision, there were three memorable reactions of and extended silence, coupled with just the slightest cocking of the head to the side. Who knows whether the three people's thoughts were a quizzical reaction, or plain boredom listening to me go on about my need to have a bed to myself.


I too, have pondered whether the arrangement was a bit extreme and should I have just 'sucked it up' and shared a bed. Obviously, my ponderings led me back to the conclusion that the bed next door was the better decision - extreme as it may have been. I always come back to my (and my husband's) need to get a solid night's sleep. The world is a better place for it - I promise. And if this means heading to the next door neighbour's for a week, then so be it.

When it comes to meeting basic needs, humans do become extreme. I don't need to bore you with all sorts of obvious examples, but just think of all the strange places that people do sleep. Personally, I can't understand how people sleep on public transport. The fear of missing my stop is so overwhelming that I will always stay wide awake, looking in wonder at sleeping commuters, wondering if they have just passed their house and are going to wake up at a bus terminal many kilometres away from where they live. Sleeping in a public place also scares me in case I wake up with my cheek in a puddle of drool, with all around me whispering to each other because I have been snoring so loudly.

There is a blog that is dedicated to asians sleeping in libraries (http://asianssleepinginthelibrary.tumblr.com/). Again.... an extreme sleeping choice, and one that possibly makes my choice look quite pedestrian.

To cater for the visitor effect in the future we do plan to build a new room on our house. The plans have not yet materialised into a room - but at least we have a plan. Until then, I remain grateful to my neighbours who generously offered me the bed and were so kind to me. My extreme sleeping is over for now.



End note: I must note how very, very lucky I am to have such fantastic neighbours. This would not be something many people would have access to, faced with the same situation in which I found myself. Brian and Lesley are outstanding people. An added bonus to sleeping next door was the comfort level of the neighbour's spare room bed. Outstanding! The bed is an old brass bed with a super comfy mattress, flanelette sheets (for winter of course) and a puffy, feather doona.

A fine alternative to my own bed.