Night Cap

Here's something I miss as a child - Honey and Milk for sleepless nights.  Yes, that's right, I said it, honey and milk.  Mmmm.  Memories.


It didn't happen often, but every now and again a plague of sleeplessness would hit my family.  It was almost as if everyone caught the bug at once, like the power went out or the cable stopped working and everyone was affected at exactly the same time.  The only problem was this "plague" was extreme sleepiness with absolutely no possible means of falling asleep.  Our eyes hurt, we were cranky, and we just wanted to go to bed, but we couldn't seem to get over the "I finally fell asleep!" hump.  


On nights like those, Dad would head to the kitchen and put on a pot of milk and honey.  He'd sit over the stove while we stood around and chatted, stirring the milk frequently, which I later learned was to prevent the milk from burning.  I always just figured he was bored or had a supreme calling from the Milk and Honey Gods to always and consistently stir the magic potion.  Needless to say, as soon as it was warm enough he'd pour us each a cup and we'd sit and sip at the sweet nectar of promised sleep inducer.  Eventually we'd make it to bed and, sure enough, sleep would arrive soon thereafter.  


In the end, I have no idea if honey milk is a real remedy for sleeplessness, but it certainly worked as a kid - or, well, at least the placebo affect of watching the making of said honey milk, drinking said honey milk, and then returning to bed did the trick.  Either way, it worked for me.  And, on nights like tonight where sleep seems to elude you no matter how much you wish for it, I would gladly return for a childhood night cap.