Starfish In My Bed

It is that time again, when Mr B is away and I get the bed all to myself.

The bed isn’t really that big but it is huge to me because I am only 5ft 4 and he is 6ft 3. The advert with the hippo and the duck is quite apt for bed time in our house. Not that I am saying for one minute that my husband is a hippo you understand, I’m just agreeing with the advert and it’s animal similarities to our sleeping arrangements…wait a minute, that doesn’t sound right either!

Anyway, I will eventually climb into bed and pull the covers up tight. I’ll lie there for a while listening to the sounds of the house as it cools down and goes to sleep. The cats perfecting the art of draught excluding by transporting all their weight onto my feet. Pins and needles will set in and I will shift my position only to wake up a few hours later and see that they have resumed their snooze on my toes again.

I’ll hear the boys snoring through their closed doors and wonder what they are dreaming about. Big (but really still wee) N – possibly The Butterfly Lion by Michael Morpugo, a book he needs to read for school but he can’t quite get over the fact that the main character Bertie ran away from home and doesn’t have any friends as he lives so remote in Africa. I haven’t read this one yet as I am working my way through The War Horse, so I’m hoping there will be light at the end of the tunnel for Bertie and his lion. And peace of mind for N too.

Wee C will no doubt be practising his judo moves on some unsuspecting enemy, his recent dreams have become battles between zombies and dragons. Each time he wakes up, a new character has emerged as the hero and we happily endure a ten minute low-down of bravery, sword-fighting and a few villains encountered along the way.

Normally in these circumstances I will bring a bit of Stevie up stairs with me. His ballads from Songs In The Key Of Life are like a breath of fresh air caressing your ears and lulling you into a deep, contented sleep.

The starfish appears at this moment in time. I am relaxed and falling into my Darth Vader-ish rhythmic breathing routine. I lean into the mattress as my arms hang loose and my feet fall to the side. Taking up all the bed I create the star shape and drift away until the incessant beep of my alarm wakes us all and we get on with our day.

Hurry home Mr B – there’s starfish in our bed!