Insomnia Hotline It all started with my friend Eric and I, thinking we must have come up with the most brilliant idea. Why should we all have to suffer alone if there could be a number to call, and if any of us are also up, we’ll be there waiting to keep the other company? I don’t have insomnia anymore, not like I did then, which was more a fear of not falling asleep, as it got later and later, although eventually, always, I did. For many years in-between then and my divorce, I slept just fine. Until I’d fall asleep to wake up just a few hours later, the vestiges of grief and self-protection clinging to my nerves, denying all vulnerability and darkness until the dawn nudged through my blinds, at which point, I almost always had to get up. Now I’m sleeping just fine again, more or less, while another friend is up with her divorce and all the things she needs to do and can’t imagine ever doing. I tell her about Eric and my idea from our 20s. She loves it of course, the hotline idea. She wants to know the details and how often we used it, etc. but the truth is: never. It was only an idea to laugh about over wine or a walk around the pond the next day after a particularly bad night. And now too, no matter how many friends and coworkers I have told and all think: yes! We still don’t do it. Maybe it’s our endless hope that this night will be different, or maybe, more likely, it's our unconscious knowing: these sharp edges of aloneness are ours, and ours alone, to be soothed.  |
Hike level: Moderate
Description: The Morgan-Percival Loop, covering two 52 with a view peaks, has great views of Squam Lake
and Lake Winnipesauke. It's about a 5.5 mile hike with around 1,500 feet elevation gain.
Location: Holderness, NH
Driving distance from Boston: About 2.5 hours
Cost: FREE
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