These traditional words to this Welsh lullaby are going through my head today…because sleep did not come easily to me last night. Today, I am walking around in a fog, looking longingly at each soft chair I pass, counting the minutes until I can sit down and take a nap. Have you ever had a day like that?

I know that this state is not unusual to many people but it is to me. Some people are "good eaters". I am a "good sleeper." I once fell asleep -with intention-at a college basketball game. I have always been able to say "I’m just going to nap for 10 minutes"…and I do. So, not being able to sleep is out of the norm for me.  My heart goes out to people who deal with this on a regular basis.

Last night as I was staring blankly at the television screen, I held the remote, weapon-like, in my weary hand. How can there be so many channels and nothing I want to watch? I tried surfing the internet….again, a completely fruitless activity, especially in the middle of the night.  And so I lay there and thought and prayed and hoped for sleep to come. And of course, eventually it did, if a little too late.

And so today, I walk in the world with less than aware eyes, hoping that I do not miss anything of importance, that I drive safely, that tonight finds me warm and cozy and asleep…….all through the night.  Perhaps a sweet angelic voice will sing:

"O’er thy spirit gently stealing,visions of delight revealing. Breathes a pure and holy feeling ,all through the night."