Business travel can be tough, but it has one major upside. At home, the baby is always up earlier than I’d like. Some nights he does better than others, but there’s no guarantee he’ll sleep through the night. As the lactating parent (which, honestly, is what the baby wants) I tend to be the one experiencing this middle-of-the-night and wee hours quality time.
This makes a night in a hotel room an exquisite experience. I go to sleep when I want to go to sleep. I can be pretty sure that, barring a fire in the hotel, I’ll be able to stay in my bed until morning. And I will get up at the time I decide to get up! How amazing is that!
It becomes my little treat to get as much sleep as possible. Last night I was in bed at 10:30 and I started drifting in and out — nature’s snooze button — around 6 a.m. I got up for good just before 7.
To be honest, the night prior wasn’t that bad. I went down around 10:30 and while there was noise at 5 a.m., I was able to go back to sleep, and the baby got up for good at 6. The two nights before were tough, though. Sunday to Monday he woke up three times. Monday to Tuesday he was down, but I was traveling for work and didn’t get to bed until 11:30. He was up at 5. Fortunately I was able to take a 1-hour nap in the afternoon (a perk of working from home).
Nonetheless, knowing that I will be able to sleep a full night is a wonderful thing. I know, from raising three other babies, that I will get there again, probably before too long. In the meantime, there are hotel rooms, spread out every two weeks or so in my life — primarily because I’m traveling for work, but as a bonus they help me soldier through.
Photo: Hotels have fascinating art installations too. This one, “Seasons,” is made up of hundreds of little bamboo spools, suspended by threads from a web to look like a trunk. Kind of mesmerizing in person.
This is a beautiful piece of art. It is actually not so much an installation, but an entry in Artprize. Artprize is a 19 day art competition, where the public can vote on their favorite works of art, which are put on display all over downtown Grand Rapids, MI! Entries are displayed in restaurants, business lobbies, parks, hotels, all over! It really is a wonderful event to explore the city and see great art!
@Heather – yes, I heard a lot about it while I was here! Lots of fun pieces to look at and explore.
I had two nights in a hotel room by myself last week when I was in Vegas for a work conference. Because I am almost 5 months pregnant with kid #3, my version of living it up in Vegas was going to bed before 8 one of the nights. It always amazes me how quickly I can get ready in the mornings (allowing for later wake up time) when I don’t have two kids to get ready at the same time. Hotel sleep is wonderful!
@Natalie – it is amazing how efficient we are when it’s just us, right? Out the door in no time…
Glad you got some good sleep.
I can never sleep well in hotel rooms. Too many strange noises all night long. And every one of them wakes me up.
@Beth – ear plugs! And I don’t feel bad wearing them because I’m not trying to hear anyone!
I enjoyed your newsletter this month. I consider “blessed with opportunities” to be a good response to my life right now. And perhaps the skill I’m honing now more than any is how to keep a level head and to select the right activities for focus within my personal and professional aspirations.
@Griffin- thanks so much. Yes, many opportunities is a good thing. Figuring out the right ones isn’t always easy, but worth trying to continue to improve in that regard.
Now if you could only develop motivational writing pieces for keeping up the running habit during the muggiest of seasons in a muggy climate…Reading about your training has me wishing I was in that space, but I haven’t gotten there. I’ve been swimming and weight training and am considering how I might adapt to being an October – May serious runner with an appropriate plan for June – September. Sarah (shu), help me out here. Off to the gym during lunch…
We are leaving for a 3-day trip on Sunday and all we can talk about is sleeping all night without interruption! 🙂
PS I wear earplugs too!