Quite the opposite in fact.  The problem first started weeks ago when we either 1) turned on the A/C for the first time this year or 2) started unpacking all of the clothes we brought over from the apartment.  For nights on end, sleeping in our bedroom was a continual battle against Allergens From Hell.  And the Allergens were winning without much of a fight from my end.  Runny nose, congestion, watery and itchy eyes were their weapons of choice, and I had hardly any defense.  The Allergens scoffed as I tried various allergy medications to no avail.  So until we could get the bedroom completely allergen-free, I've been retreating to the (dis)comfort of our ratty couch.

We think part of the culprit is that the people who lived in the apartment above us were smokers, and their smoke ended up permeating through the floor/ceiling into our place and saturating our clothes over time.  The other partner in crime was probably whatever mold/dust/mildew had built up in the A/C system since the last time the ducts were cleaned, probably sometime during the Industrial Revolution.  In any case, it was an allergy time bomb sitting dormant until the right moment.  An allergy attack of epic proportions waiting for the opportunity.

So for the last several weeks, on various nights, we played the game "musical beds."  Not familiar with that game?  It would go something as follows.  We would all start out sleeping in different rooms, and by morning, we would all be sleeping in different places than we started.  The object of the game?  Guess who killed Mr. Boddy.  I mean, guess where everyone would be sleeping by morning.  And for bonus points, guess how many times each person would use the restroom during the night. 

For example, I would start off sleeping on the couch in the living room, Jen would be sleeping in our bed, both Ariel and Braden in their respective rooms.  Sometime during the night, Ariel would have a bad dream and end up sleeping with Jen in our bed.  Braden would then cry out and Jen would go be with him until he fell back asleep.  Then once that happened she would come down & try to snuggle with me on our not-so-roomy couch.  And then feeling squashed, I would head upstairs to find whatever bed was vacant, in this case, Ariel's bed.  So of course the secret hidden combination for this particular game is:  Cliff with the pillow in the guest bedroom.

This whole experience is quite strange to me, as I am normally one of the soundest sleepers you would know.  Once my head hits the pillow and I fall asleep, it's lights out until morning.  Neither rain, nor hail, nor sleet, nor snow, or earthquakes or tornadoes for that matter, would wake me up.  I slept like a rock.  Always.  Without fail.  100.0000% of the time.  Until now.

Until just recently, it was Jen that was the one that has suffered from a lifelong affliction of allergies.  She was the one that had a kleenex box with her wherever she went.  She was the one that should have invested in Kleenex stock.  She was the one that left kleenex piles in her wake.  All of which I tolerated and tried as best I could to understand.  Not anymore.  Now I know exactly what she was going through.  Now I can relate.  Now we can suffer in misery together.  What doesn't tear us apart makes us stronger, right?

As I settle into the couch for another night of not-so-restful sleep, I wonder where I will wake up the next morning.  As long as it's not in a pile of Kleenex...