I have developed a very weird habit in the last few years, for a specific reason. I suppose it's my little share of the world's insanity. To understand the habit, you need to understand its history.
In July of 2001, while preparing to move to Oregon, my wife and I were forced to live for some time in a very tiny 24-foot RV. One morning I was very ill, so I stayed home from work. The Redhead had things she needed to do to prepare for work, and was making a lot of noise, so I called my dad to ask if I could nap at my parent's RV for the morning. He said yes. Before I left, I decided to go for a little swim, I figured it would help me feel better. After that, my wife sent me on an errand. While on the errand, my father called to see when I would be there. My wife told him I'd be there soon.
I finished the error, then left our RV for my parents' RV park. When I got to the RV, my dad was sleeping in his favorite chair, a western novel he'd been reading still in his hands. I decided to wake him to let him know I was there.
Except he wasn't sleeping. He was dead. I called 911, administered CPR until the fire department arrived, and they tried for some time to revive him, but it was useless. He probably died instantly of a massive heart attack.
So this is the habit I've developed since then: Any time I wake in the night, and my wife or my dog is sleeping too soundly, I have a tendency to nudge them, just a bit, not enough to intentionally wake them completely, but enough to make them stir, just so I know they're actually just asleep. You can imagine how annoying this is to them. I'd been getting better about it, but with a baby on the way, I caught myself doing it to the dog several times last night.
I'm gonna be a basket case once the kid arrives.
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