She knew it wasn’t wise to have tea after 7:PM, but what else should she have done? The doorbell rang just before that and standing on the step was Steve with a couple of bags of Rita’s Oat Cakes. No she is not having an affair with Steve. He would need to bring a lot more than oat cakes if that was the case. Steve used to work with her husband and was fundraising for a trip across the big pond for his son. It was a fudge fundraiser. However, she hates fudge. Even as a child she hated the sugary sweet taste and feel of fudge on her tongue. But on the very last line of the order form was Rita’s oat cakes. The only non-fudge item available. She loves oat cakes so she ordered two bags.
It had been an awfully long time since they had seen Steve, and he was nice enough to drive the fifteen minutes in the snow to deliver the treats. So having tea and oat cakes with him immediately seemed like the right thing to do at the time.
She sat in the living room with Steve and her husband where they had a lovely visit, chatting for a couple of hours, drinking perfectly steeped tea and munching on the wonderfully delicious oat cakes. After Steve left, she retired to the family room with her husband where they watched a couple of British mysteries before retiring to bed. All and all it was a very nice evening.
Bed is where everything fell apart. She read until midnight, which was usual for her, then turned off the light and adjusted her pillow before snugging down to go to sleep. That’s when the tea kicked in. Just enough caffeine to send her brain into overdrive. And who should arrive with the caffeine kick but Michael Lee Aday. Why Meat Loaf, she had no idea. She couldn’t even remember the last time she heard a Meat Loaf song because she deliberately avoids the lyrics of her youth as they tend to get stuck in her crazy head. Once there, they can stay for weeks. For some reason, her brain was channeling the big guy with the big voice. Paradise by the Dashboard Light literally kept her awake all night. And it wasn’t even the entire song, just a couple a lines doing a constant loop.
Ain’t no doubt about it
We were doubly blessed
‘Cause we were barely seventeen
And we were barely dressed
Why these particular lines? Who knows. She doesn’t.
The following day was tiring, which was expected since she had so little sleep. She was literally dozing off during the spring training baseball game televised that evening and hit the sack as soon as it was over. At which time she quickly crashed into a deep-deep sleep.
Suddenly her eyes popped open and she was fully awake. She checked her phone and it was midnight. She had slept for all of an hour and a half before Meat Loaf began to sing again. I guarantee you, she did not feel doubly blessed.
Thank you for reading.
Photo: Jenn Stone
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I was expecting a meatloaf recipe. I’ve been having these wide-awake moments in the middle of the night too, but no crazy music. I hope you didn’t start something.
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Ha Ha. I promise I won’t sing.
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Been there. Not the Meatloaf part, but racing thoughts in the middle of the night that keep me awake. It’s so not fun! I hope you can get back to better sleep very soon. Go away, Meatloaf!
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I will be very happy to say goodbye to Meat Loaf.
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Oh no! And what a song to get stuck in your head! Now it will probably be stuck in mine! Maggie
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I am currently playing instrumental jazz to see if I can get rid of it. Fingers crossed that it doesn’t settle in at your end.
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I used to own the Bat Out of Hell album and remember that song well. Thankfully, it hasn’t kept me awake at night, though I have plenty of nights where something else is.
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Songs and other things are notorious for keeping me awake. I am guessing plots and sentences sometimes keep you awake. They used to hinder my sleep when I was doing more writing.
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I am reading this at 3:45 am, I need to say no more… grr
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I can relate.
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You mean some people don’t have racing thoughts in the middle of the night? How is that possible? Now not thinking about Meatloaf, that’s possible. Probable even.
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I used to do some of my most creative thinking in bed at night. I would send myself emails so I would remember my ideas in the morning. Unfortunately I also get a lot of lyrics show up as well. This was a first for Meat Loaf. He needs to stay buried.
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At first, I thought you mean ‘tea’ as in our evening meal! I only have one caffeine in a morning (coffee as I hate tea) and then I stick to decaff all day – tastes exactly the same. I always hated fudge too – love chocolate and things like that but fudge is just wayyyy to sweet!
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I usually only have one tea a day at breakfast. And I don’t like coffee. So normally I don’t have a lot of caffeine in my system. I am also in the habit of keeping my evenings pretty low key to help shut down my brain before I go to bed.
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Same here. But no matter, what, whatever bugged me during the day, despite me switching it off and relaxing in the evening, it comes right back the minute I get into bed and try to sleep!
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Exactly!
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I don’t eat at midnight 😕 But I love meatloaf before 7pm so yummy.
Anita
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Before 7 can be very yummy.
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