What’s the REAL reason for my lack of sleep? Not the wisdom of Solomon, I dare say.

When I woke up this morning, I was so sleepy that I could barely stand on my feet without supporting myself. There is a reason for this.

Do you remember before I moved here to Riverview, I used to call it the Moth-house? This was because the tiny village is called Møll, a Norwegian word that translates directly as “Moth”.

Little did I know that toward the end of the summer, I would have a genuine moth infestation in the house. I am not sure they are clothes moths, and in any case, even at the height of the swarming they probably did not weigh more together than a handkerchief. Still, there has been a steady appearance of small, winged creatures in the house. They are quite tame, even when I swat one away, it seems to think it is a play and soon comes back, dancing past my head following its invisible dream.

Just lately, the weather has turned chilly. Not as in winter by far, but compared to summer. It went so far that I turned on the space heater in my bedroom, albeit at the lowest level.

Even that was tragically too much for one of the surviving moths, who may have sought to warm itself in the sudden chill. By the time I arrived to sleep, the smell of roasted chitin filled the room. It is amazing how much a roasted insect can smell. Â It is also a quite unpleasant smell. So much so that I kept waking up. Eventually I gave up and went to the spare bedroom, where I went to sleep on the old and worn rubber foam mattress. I used to sleep on it, on the floor, every night for four years before I moved here. I thought nothing of it at the time. But clearly my body has been quick to get used to luxury, as is human nature. I did sleep, repeatedly, but not as deeply as I would have wished, and I woke up early.

On the bright side, the stars were visible through the large window when I went to sleep. That was quite enjoyable. I am tempted to switch bedrooms – the one I use now has a smaller and lower window near the bed.

Even after my morning meditation, I fell asleep again, and woke up horribly tired. All because of a moth. Or because I did not consider that this might happen. Such is life. I wonder if even the wisdom of Solomon could have prevented this one. Then again Solomon, having several hundred wives, probably did not need a space heater. I still question his wisdom in that one regard though.

Surprisingly, I had no extreme difficulties staying awake through the day. No more than usual, I would say. Once again, I doubt that would have been the case even with a few dozen wives, but I may be overly optimistic about married life, having never tried it myself. Your spouse may vary, as may your moths.