When you first become a mother (and in my books that happens the minute you know you are pregnant) you no longer own your body or your life.  One of the first things that changed for me was I no longer enjoyed decent sleeps without being woken by morning, afternoon and evening sickness.  Then you get woken by beautiful bundles of joy who don’t want to sleep at night time (or in my case during the day either).  As the darlings grow up you starting getting what you now consider amazing long sleeps – except of course when they are sick and you go back to operating on zombie mode.

I remember thinking it’s going to be amazing once my kids are teenagers because I will be able to go to bed when I want and will finally get a decent sleep. Yeah right, teenagers wake you up just as much as toddlers, especially if you have a two story house and a son that is 6 foot 4 inches and built like a Mac truck… Dan I appreciate you trying to tiptoe around the house when you still lived at home but my god it sounded like Shrek stomping through the woods!!

One of my goals as a mother was to raise independent children who would grow up and leave home early.  My kids are definitely independent and due to the fact that their parents split up when they were 15 & 17 they moved out of home exceptionally early by even today’s standards.  Part of me was sad because I didn’t like the fact that they probably would have stayed home for longer if their parents were together but part of me was glad because kids are meant to fend for themselves and have their own lives… plus it meant I would finally get a decent nights’ sleep on a regular basis!!

But just when you think you have control of your own life in walks another fucking disaster and mine came in the name of Alopecia.  When I had hair I took so many things for granted and a good example of that is how your hair on your head and body keeps you warm.  I have never been so cold in my entire life and believe it or not no one has invented a way for us baldies to keep our heads warm in the winter!!  I have tried headsocks (which are so damn sexy, thank god it’s just me and dog nowadays), beanies, scarves and even my itchy wig but guess what – they all come off your bloody head and you wake up with a head that feels like it has a ton of ice piled on it.

Life is funny (and by that I mean ironic not hilarious).  We have no control over most things that happen in our lives and one of my sayings has always been; “ya gotta laugh cos its either that or sit in a corner and rock and I ain’t doing that”.  Even though I find “sleep time” quite frustrating and I seldom wake up feeling refreshed I am still happy and thankful because life could be a lot worse.  So when you’re feeling down about your cold noggin or whatever it is that gives you the shits don’t forget to be thankful for all the fabulous things in your life – even if it’s just the hair on your head or your chins. Keep your chins up sweetcheeks!!