The first time I slept in a bed beside Pete, I didn’t.
And not for that reason, either 😉
I lay awake all night and I thought there was no possible way any human could sleep next to snoring at that decibel level. Ever.
I thought that if I was going to pursue a relationship with him, I was going to have to become one of ‘those people’ who slept with ear plugs.
Pete’s snoring was legendary. It was so loud.
People tell tales of recording it, or having to sleep with head under pillows, of needing to change rooms.
He wouldn’t hear of it - he always slept fine. Couldn’t understand what everyone complained about.
It certainly took a lot of getting used to, and somewhere along the way in the last 17-odd years we’ve lived together, I did.
But now there is nothing.
Our bedroom is quiet.
And the silence is deafening.
To be fair, he didn’t snore ALL night. Just when he slept lightly (I know, right, total oxymoron).
So when he was in a deep sleep there was still the sound of breathing beside me.
Now when I wake up at 2am there is no noise at all.
Our bedroom is completely silent.
But even out of the bedroom the silence noticeable. Even with 4 children in the house.
When they are all in bed and I’m watching TV - there’s no one to talk to.
When I come home from work and the kids are all at activities - there’s no one to talk to.
When I curl up in bed and find a funny meme or read something interesting or just want to debrief - there’s no one to talk to.
Pete might have been a noisy sleeper and I miss the sound of him beside me, but I can turn the ABC radio on and do the midnight quiz or the one at 2am or listen to the book reading before the 4am news bulletin to try and resolve that.
The other thing Pete was good at was talking. And I enjoyed talking to him. His sense of humour. His opinion on things. His general ability to know stuff or be interested in stuff (except shoes). And I enjoyed his company.
I miss his company.
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