Bear with Me by Ruth Smith Meyer

Me? Hibernate like an animal?  There may be some advantages.

As a child, author Thornton W. Burgess provided a delightful door to the world around me. I often sat, 15 or 20 feet from the ground, in the fork of a big maple tree in front of our home and entered the animal kingdom through his pages. Living with Reddy Fox, Jerry Muskrat, Jimmy Skunk, Cubby Bear and other creatures gave me the sense that I was sharing this planet with many other species. These stories helped me understand challenges that animals face, gave me a glimpse of their homes, the things that threaten their lives and the joy they find in the every day.

I thought of Burgess when our blog moderator asked the question “Hibernation – how come only bears get to hibernate? What would you do if you could go into hibernation?”

There are times when hibernation sounds like a mighty good idea.  Life gets hectic, when the days aren’t long enough to get everything done, or conversely, our attention is so focused on one thing that the other parts of life fade into the background. At such times, to have a season-long snooze becomes quite appealing. 

With my husband in the hospital and in rehab fifty minutes from our house, the past three months have been such a period in my life. There have been nights when I went to bed and thought I could sleep for a month or two, and mornings when I just wanted to burrow further into my bed and ignore the sun that shone through my window.

So if I were to hibernate, what would I like to do?  Starting around the beginning of November, I’d like to let my mind and body rest. The delta sleep with its deep slow brain waves could last for the first month or so.  

Over the years, I have found that I often come up with my best ideas for writing while I am partially asleep. After a time of that delta sleep, I would progress to the REM stage (Rapid Eye Movement) also known as active sleep or paradoxical sleep. I could wake up momentarily to jot down some of the ideas that spring up.  I could then alternate between the two stages. 

Recently, I’ve awakened in the dark of night, already praying for a person or a situation, some of which have been on my mind and others seemingly out of the blue.  During my hibernation it would be nice to have that happen frequently in those REM stages with brief moments of consciousness before falling asleep again.

Sometime, from the end of February to the middle of March, I’d like to emerge from my state of dormancy having had my body burn up most of the excess fat I’ve stored for too long, feeling fit as a fiddle, fired up and ready to get my mid-hibernation jottings in a more complete form on my computer.  Then I could look for places that would be glad to publish my wonderful articles and books.

Ahhh! Cubby Bear move over!