How to Wake the Snoring Spouse

I've been dealing with a sinus infection the past few days.  Hacking, sneezing, using more tissue than my own personal annual allotment.  Most noticeably, I have been having great difficulty getting a good night's sleep.  I have been waking up at least five times every night - to blow my nose or to flush the drink-plenty-of-fluids from my body.

I have paid little attention to the impact this has on my dear husband.

In the wee hours of the morning I was wakened to the whispered and gentle questioning of my husband.  I say "gentle" because he had softly placed his stroked hand on my shoulder and was quietly asking, "Are you okay?"

I was perfectly fine, I thought.  I had been sleeping fitfully but I had been sleeping.  I assured him that I was well and rolled over, snuggling deeply into my pillow and drifting off once more.  Mere seconds passed before I woke myself with my own snoring.

It was then - and only then - that I realized what had happened.  This had not been the first time during my sickness - nor the first time in my marriage - that I awakened to find my husband's gentle hand on my shoulder and asking "Are you okay?'

This is his way of waking the snoring spouse.  I like his example.