My world, turned upside down

For the last eight years of my marriage, I have slept on the right side of our bed. There has never been any dispute as to who's side of the bed is whose. Anna has always liked to sleep on the left side, and I enjoy the right. However, since Addie has arrived home, we have run into a problem. As Addie is still very young, Anna and I have been having her sleep in our room in the pack 'n' play (for those not familiar, a pack 'n' play is a portable crib/baby jail--you've probably seen one before, as a baby looks to you, the tallest individual available, for freedom). The sleeping in the pack 'n' play is not the issue--it's the positioning of the pack 'n' play (hereinafter the pnp, as I'm tired of typing pack 'n' play) in our bedroom.

In order for Anna to be as close to Addie as possible during the night (as Anna gets up with her so that I can sleep as much as possible before work), we've positioned the pnp next to her side of the bed. The problem is, this positioning of the pnp blocked our closet, making clothing retrieval a little complicated. So, yesterday, Anna proposed a solution--we switch sides of the bed, so that the pnp can be moved to where it would no longer block the closet. As a result of this bold proposition, last night--for the first time in nearly eight years--I slept on the left side of the bed. For those of you that are single, you're thinking: "so what's the big deal? I sleep on both sides all the time." While those of you who are married are thinking: "Switching sides of the bed must be grounds for institutionalization, right? Why would I switch? I mean it's my side." Married folks, I'm there with you--but I'm willing to sacrifice for the good of my wife and daughter.

But that doesn't mean that it wasn't one of the weirdest nights of sleep I've had in a while. Anna was genuinely concerned (as I occasionally sleepwalk--I locked myself out of a hotel room a couple of years ago at 2 a.m., but that's another story) that I would wake up in utter confusion as to why I would be sleeping on the left side of the bed. I didn't sleep all that well, but I consider the night a success as I didn't get up and leave the house in my sleep. I'll take waking up in my bed, albeit a little sleepy and slightly unnerved as to the left-sidedness of my bedded position, over waking up on the lawn. Until further notice, I'll continue to sleep on the left side of the bed. So, if you see me sleepwalking down the Interstate, please give me a ride--I'll thank you when I wake up.