What was that?

After sleeping in the same bed with the same woman for twenty five years, you would think that I had seen and heard everything. Before you get the wrong idea let me say it again…sleep…in the same bed. After this much time in grade you get so used to your partner that even the strangest of noises and movements become the new normal. I do keep a set of ear plugs handy for allergy season, but that’s another story worthy of claiming an entire chapter. Garden variety snoring is welcome background noise similar to one of those sleep machines. Water in a mountain stream, birds in the forest, a mild thunderstorm or snoring spouse; choose your personal setting.
But what never ceases to amaze me is just how quick one can go from stage 4 REM sleep to casual conversation. It’s like flipping a switch. Last night for example; we’ve been sleeping with the windows open for the last few weeks, enjoying the cooler weather. This week has been extra special because we’ve had rain! I remember waking a time or two and listening to water coming over the top of the gutters instead of exiting through the leaf choked down spout; music to my ears! You probably think this would be cause for concern, but let me say that old age has allowed me to sleep like a baby through the most urgent of home maintenance concerns. But sometime later in the night I heard PJ say in a normal tone “What was that?” I responded in real time “I don’t know”. Just a normal conversation in the middle of the night…how was your day or did you feed the dog?
Yes I heard it too; there was a loud noise of something crashing to the ground. PJ did ask me if I thought the falling satellite had hit us, but we were both fully awake at that point and I assured her that our yard would probably already be full of vans wearing NASA stickers. But isn’t it funny that I don’t hear the toilet flush or the dog bark anymore, but PJ can ask “are you awake?” and I will say “yes”. Maybe it’s just the ears of a parent. Before Taylor was born I rarely got out of bed in the night; sometimes I didn’t even roll over. But now thanks to the combination of an almost fifty year old bladder and daughter to care for, I get up at least once every night. I think that before we go to bed each night we “set ourselves” just like the clock. It makes me wonder what else is going on?