A Sensible Person’s Nightmare

Life on a back road, in Glover, Vermont.

I’ve been a widow for a bit more than three years. For me, as for many others I know who nursed someone through a long, difficult illness, sensible sleep patterns were hard to resume afterward. My compassionate doctor labeled this situation “hypervigilance” — I had tried, for so long, to listen for when my dying spouse needed my help, even when at night I tried to catch a bit of rest. My ears and mind couldn’t release the routine right…