During my hospital stay, my husband was busy delivering all sorts of things that I needed or wanted. One of them was sparkling water. I didn’t drink it much before, but I wanted something else besides boring hospital food.
One night, I woke up middle of the night. I checked the time. I still had a couple more hours until the time I wanted to wake up. It’s been my new habit of checking the time every time I wake up during the night. Sleep wasn’t the time to relax but to kill time to pass another day for me.
I tried to go back to sleep. I tried to breathe to calm myself, listening to nice music, and listening to one of my favorite audiobooks that used to help me to go to sleep. Nothing worked. It was agony. I couldn’t reposition myself in my favorite sleep position either. I’ve been sleeping in one way too long.
I decided to wake up. I could take a nap almost anytime I wanted anyway. Then I had this strong urge to drink sparkling water. I wasn’t sure if I had any left in the tiny hospital fridge. I slowly walked to the refrigerator and opened it. Voila! I had one bottle left! It brightened my mood up. I gulped down a bit.
I looked at the bottle for a while. This one little green bottle changed my torturous night to a bubbly one. It wasn’t only the drink that changed it but also that I have a husband who loves and cares about me. People might think it’s not a big deal to bring stuff over to the hospital where your loved one is staying. However, it can be just an annoying troll without enough love and care for the person. I was thankful that I have someone in my life who I love and who loves me back equally. It’s a blessing. So, after I stared at the sparkling water bottle, thinking of my husband, I decided to draw it to save my feeling at the moment.
I’ve been drawing on my iPad from the hospital for a while now. But I did most of them in a free-flowing manner. This time, I had to do more detailed work. Soon after, I realized that my hand was lightly shaking. I wasn’t sure if it was from lack of energy or one of the side effects from all the treatments I’ve been receiving. But I didn’t mind the result. Frankly, I liked the imperfection. I was happy to know that even if this shaking hand is permanent, I’ll be okay to keep creating.
When I almost finished the drawing, the hallway light came on, and I heard day shift nurses were coming. My new day at the hospital was starting again. I thanked my husband and my sparkling water for helping me push through another sleepless night of my hospital life.