sleep walking

I never get tired of hearing the funny things that other people do in their sleep, but I'm waiting for someone to top the things that my husband has done while sleeping. Most of them he has absolutely no memory of, others he recalls as if remembering a dream. I knew he was notorious for doing things in his sleep before we got married, but the stories don't really compare to experiencing it first hand. Still, I think it's necessary to share some of the hilarity with you here.

When he was young he went on a mission trip to Mexico with his church. Before bed there was conversation about Ben's notorious sleep activities. His best friend suggested that it would be hilarious if he were to get out of the tents they were sleeping in that night. Apparently the suggestion was quite powerful as the next morning Ben work up on the steps of a nearby building...in his sleeping bag...with several of his belongings with him and of course no memory of how he got there. 

Closer to home he once woke up while he was running down the street, wearing just boxers and his shoes. He had dreamt that he was late meeting a friend, so in his sleep he put on his shoes and hurried halfway there. He got back into bed in such a hurry as to not be seen that he didn't bother to take his shoes back off. 

Once we got married he would often babble in his sleep, but at the time I was a pretty heavy sleeper and barely noticed. Just a month after our wedding I was away on a work retreat and he was home alone in our apartment. He was working on a message as camp pastor for the week out at Camp Harlow before bed. Around 2am he woke up to find all the lights on and the computer {that he'd shut down} up + running. Needless to say, I worried a bit about him walking around the neighborhood in his sleep while I was away.

One of my favorite things he did once was to stand up and start spinning in place and touching the bed as he passed by it. I woke up and asked what he was doing, he didn't know and went back to sleep. He remembers none of it.

More recently, at our last house,  I awoke to Ben standing in the doorway of our bedroom. It took me a minute to realize that his arms were in a cradled position and he was bouncing + swaying. I again, asked what he was doing. He said he was soothing Kai to sleep. I sighed and informed him that his arms were empty and Malakai was still asleep in the other room. This one even made him laugh the next morning.

Lately Malakai is starting to exhibit some interesting sleepy time traits. Last week when Ben and I got settled into bed for the night we heard a loud + clear "hi!" over the monitor. We fully expected to have to get up + soothe him...but he was talking in his sleep!

I'm a little nervous about what I could possibly be in for if I end up with two sleep walkers/talkers in the house. The stories are hilarious, but I may have to barricade the doors at night!

What's your favorite sleep walking/talking story? I'd love to hear it!