Welcome to Sleepy Shorts Short Stories for Bedtime. This podcast is brought to you
by I have a story to tell you that will help take your mind off
of all your worries and cares. You will listen and relax and drift peacefully
into sleep. It's time to turn off the lights and snuggle into your bed.
Find your most comfortable position there. Now take a few seconds to relax
your mind. It's time to sleep. Time to rest and rejuvenate our minds
and bodies. In order to prepare our bodies for sleep, let's do a
couple of muscle relaxation and breathing exercises. I want you to inhale for a
count of three, and while doing so, tighten all your muscles ready and
inhale one two three, Hold your breath, keep your muscles tense. Now
exhale to account of six. While you relax your muscles one two, three,
four five six, feel your body sinking deeper into your bed. Let's
do this one more time. Take a deep three second breath as you tighten
your muscles one two three, hold it now, relax and exhale to account
of six. One two, three, four, five six. Let your
body sink even deeper into your bed again. It's time now for your sleepy
short Let me help you fall us sleep. New Mexico Desert days. I
grew up in the desert of southern New Mexico. The house I lived in
was at the top of a hill. At the bottom of that hill was
a dead end. I loved that dead end because just past it and was
thousands of acres of desert. Most weekend mornings as a child, I would
wake up bride and early, excited to go exploring with my dog, Misty.
Misty was a German shepherd mix that shed a lot and barked too much,
but she was my best friend. German shepherds are loyal and smart,
and Misty was both of those things. When we got her as a puppy,
my dad said she needed to be an outside only dog. Thankfully,
he caved into my begging and pleading, and soon enough she became my constant
buddy. We did everything together. We played together, we slept together.
Sometimes we even ate together. But our favorite thing to do was get up
early and explore the desert. Exploring can take a lot out of you,
so we would make sure to eat a good breakfast first. I would pour
kibble in her bowl as she happily pranced around the kitchen. My breakfast was
usually something boring like corn flakes or raisin brand, but I didn't care.
I would scarf it down so Misty and I could hurry up and get on
with our adventure. Misty knew the routine, so as soon as she was
done with her breakfast, she would head toward the front door while I filled
up a canteen with ice and cold water from the sink. Misty's green leash
was kept in the closet by the front door. The second I would get
it out of the closet, Misty would jump up and down, yelping excitedly.
It always took a minute or two to calm her enough that I could
get her leash on. I'd opened the door and we would begin our adventure.
The house where I grew up had a small courtyard with rosebushes on either
side of the walkway. I love to inhale the sweet smell of those rose
bushes as we walked toward the wrought iron gate that led to the driveway and
then the sidewalk. Walking down the street always turned into a jog as Misty
would be so excited to get to the desert, pulling on the leash,
whining, tail wagging. It was only about a five minute walk past the
other adobe brickhouses to the open desert at the end of the street. I
would take Misty's leash off as soon as we got there and watch her race
off with her nose to the ground, sniffing excitedly. We had a little
game we would play. One day, she found an old rabbit fur and
buried it deep in the desert sand like it was her special treasure. Then
every day after that, when we would go for our desert walks, she
would find the rabbit fur, dig it up, and bring it back to
me to show it off, usually with her cute nose covered in sand,
and then she would run off to bury it in a new hiding place.
As soon as that game was over, we would start our explorations. The
desert in southern New Mexico was vast and seemingly endless, miles and miles of
nearly white sand, green and brown sagebrush, and plump cacti with pink flowers
depending on the season. In Misty and I would stroll for hours, it
seemed along the familiar sandy trails through the desert landscape. I loved the feel
of the warm desert breeze on my skin, and the way the breeze smelled
of sweet, clean, fresh air mixed with bitter sage brush. It's a
scent from my childhood that as an adult I can still distinctly remember. Sometimes
our explorations would take us to old arroyos or dry creeks. You could see
the erosion on the side of these dry creeks and see the smooth, wavy
patterns in the sand that water once made in them during the spring rainy season.
Sometimes we would find a creek with water, which Misting love to run
up and down in, barking and biting at the splashes she made. To
find an oasis like that in the middle of the hot, dry desert was
always a treat for both of us. We would come across some wildlife sometimes
on our explorations, too, a green lizard sun bathing on a rock,
or a brown and white striped roadrunner zipping across the sand chasing a bug.
And by the way, roadrunners actually don't look anything like the cartoon. They
are actually small and dainty and don't say beep beep. On lucky days,
we would spook and unsuspecting gray jack rabbit and Misty would be off for the
chase. Ten years of chasing jack rabbits in the New Mexico desert and she
never caught even one, but that never discouraged her. She gave it her
best effort every time, sprinting off into the sage brush, returning to me
a few minutes later, panting and exhausted, but clearly very happy. Sometimes
we would begin our desert explorations in the evening, just after dinner. It
would be cooler then, and somehow that would make the air smell different to
me, regardless of what time we ventured out, though, Misty would always
begin the adventure by running off to find the old rabbit fur and bringing it
back to me proud. I would pat her gently on the head and tell
her good girl, and she would trot contently out of my view in order
to secretly bury it. Again. We wouldn't stray too far from civilization in
the evenings, though I knew that there were packs of coyotes out there,
because at night I could hear them howling from my house, but I never
got to see one. They always stayed hidden, but you could hear them.
Being in the desert at dusk was always magical for me. The sunsets
seemed to fill up the entire sky with shades of yellow and orange, and
even sometimes red and purple. When the moon was full and low in the
sky, it seemed like you could just reach out and grab it. When
it rose high in the sky, it would illuminate the whole desert with its
light bouncing off the nearly white desert sand. There were many nights that Misty
and I would stay out well past my curfew, pretending we lost track of
time just to enjoy watching the colorful sunset before we strolled back home in the
quiet, bright light of the moon. Back at my house, we would
snuggle up in my bed and quickly fall asleep, excited for the new day
ahead of us. Good Night, Lay hold Y l La to d