#5 Collapsing into bed when you’re completely, massively exhausted

Burn, baby, burn.

Life’s not long and we only got so many moments we’re wide awake. So take, take, take — grab that run at sunrise, laugh with baby before the door, clock into work with energy, and clock out looking for more. Run to that soccer practice, grab ice cream when it ends, stir up a recipe the slow way, and finish by connecting with a friend.

Bomb’s ticking, clock’s clicking, you’re going underground soon.

So before you die make sure you try to squeeze every drop from your days.

Run till you bleed, love till she leaves, power up with passion and fire.

Give it your best, forget all the rest, and collapse at the end of the day.

AWESOME!

Live in Toronto? Join me next Wednesday, April 18th at 7pm when I reveal the #1 awesome thing, sign books, and chat about the journey of 1000 Awesome Things. RSVP on Facebook!

Thank you to The Toronto Star for putting THE AWESOME MOVEMENT on the cover of the largest paper in the country!


Photo from: here

102 thoughts to “#5 Collapsing into bed when you’re completely, massively exhausted”

  1. I was going to go to bed, but realized it was almost midnight so I stayed up to see the next post. Now I can go collapse!!

  2. I find myself doing that more and more often now that I’m in college! Even though I hate how exhausted I am every evening, morning, and afternoon, there’s an exquisitely delicious feeling to finally crawling into bed, pulling the covers up around you, nestling your face into the pillow, and smiling your way to quick and welcome sleep with the knowledge that for a few hours you can just forget all of your worries and responsibilities and let your brain write, direct, and act out a movie or two. :)

  3. I love that feeling!
    I love going to bed altogether! such a good feeling getting all cozy and warm!
    I know i will have this feeling tomorrow night after my husbands sisters engagement party! going to be a long day helping prepare & another long night!
    woo hoo I love parties! :)

  4. Oh yeah, totally Neil! I actually get excited when I get to sleep xD.

    Step 1: Get ready to go out

    Step 2: Have a mad, fun time out

    Step 3: Plan trip home

    Step 4: Arrive home stinky, sweaty, wanting to get the make-up off your face

    Step 5: Shower if it’s been a sweaty event (especially after dancing/a concert/festival)

    Step 5: and finally, BED SWEET BED OH GOD YES BED! Feels good man.

  5. I just finished reading your article in the star – wow! so many things i did not know about you! :)
    good on you for keeping this blog ad free – it makes it so much better!
    thank you! :)

    on a side note, it’s cold here in my office & I have some left over nutella from lunch – so guess what I’m about to make now?

    a Nutella Hot Chocolate! :) yum :)

    if you haven’t tried it yet – go do it now! :D

        1. I just “liked” Nutella on facebook. I have tried it before and loved it, but I haven’t had it in a while. I need to remember to get a jar so I can make that hot chocolate! Yum!

          1. Oh! I just thought of something! Collapsing into bed with a cup of Nutella hot chocolate! That has to be an awesome thing! Just don’t spill it on yourself.

  6. I just finished reading your article in the star – wow! so many things i did not know about you! :)
    good on you for keeping this blog ad free – it makes it so much better!
    thank you! :)

    on a side note, it’s cold here in my office & I have some left over nutella from lunch – so guess what I’m about to make now?

    a Nutella Hot Chocolate!

    YUM! :)

    if you haven’t tried it yet – go do it now! :D

  7. This is me right now. Got up at 5am, proctored tests all morning, tutored all evening and just got home and into bed. Round 2 again tomorrow.It’s like your bed feels extra comfy on days like this.

    PS I’m really starting to hate on Canada. You guys always get all the fun stuff. Boooo! :)

    1. lol, be a lover, not a hater! You know you love us!! (and yes, I’ll be there on Wednesday!)

      1. Ack – I’m once again so super jealous of you jdurley! You get to go to all the awesome events!!

        You’ll have to report back and tell us how it is! (Will there be chocolate milk on tap again?)

          1. Woohooo, Hiya Wendy! :)

            I’m terribly jealous, but thrilled for ya, Jdurley! Just make sure to tell us everything about it!

              1. I’m jealous too. I wish I could be there, but I’ll wait (un)patiently until the next morning to see what #1 is going to be. I know there will already be 50 comments by the time I get here.
                Taking kids to circus on Wednesday, too. Love to be in Canada for the announcment, but taking my son to his first circus is my awesome thing!

  8. Dat feel. It’s a good one. Then you wake up suddenly, and realize the laptop battery is dead, the bedroom light is still on, and there’s a puddle of drool the size of your head. This tends to happen after a week of paper writing.

  9. This post just managed to cheer up my Friday the 13th after dragging myself into work FAR too early… but then I think that every day! Bed is exactly where I want to be right now, and it is awesome!

  10. well I also often fall into such exhaustion. My work is an online ticket vendor should always be pretty much onlines. So I usually go on holiday to the quiet suburbs to rest.

  11. Awesome!! The feeling of collapsing is awesome and the reading of this post is awesome-r!
    The fact that you don’t remember a single dream the next morning coz you slept like a log, the satisfaction that the sleep you slept was well deserved, the fact tat you can’t remember when you drifted into your cute sleep!! All awesome awesome awesome!!!
    And then on top of it, reverse- awesome is the act of getting out of ur snuggly bed and covers but which is over-shadowed by the comfy sleep..

    I’m sure everyone will try to make the awesomeness continue even if the blog is discontinued Neil :)

  12. Exactly one week left till the last post, so is it too early to speculate on what #1 will be?

    Will 1000 awesome things go out in a blaze of glory, or will it be something so innately awesome, so brutally simple, something that’s been in front of us this whole time, but we’ve been too busy too notice it, like so many other posts?

    I’m kinda hoping it’s the latter.

  13. Oh, that really is one of the best feelings! Your body just relaxes and you become one with the bed. Most times I don’t know how tired I really am until I crawl into bed.
    I need to find my little pocket of energy and go full steam into everyday. Thanks, Neil!!
    Congrats on being on the Toronto Star!!
    I wish you event next week would be televised or something. I can’t just spontaneously take a trip to Canada

  14. Congrats on the newspaper mention!! Very good interview, I would say :) And this post kinda sums up the philosophy of this blog- live life fully, don’t do anything half-heartedly and always think positively :) Which means run up from your bedroom door and jump spread-eagled onto your bed! Love it!

  15. Hey, there’s me and geekteen in the Awesome photos! In the top photo, that’s me sitting in the back row with the white shirt on (front of the shirt says “I’ve been here since brocoflower” on it). Geekteen is beside me (you can only see her head). Oh, and that’s my husband on the other side of me.

    And in the bottom photo, that’s geekteen’s blurry red head in the foreground, and my slightly less red, but even more blurry head to the left of her head.

    1. Very cool! You are now at least as famous as Kathy who became a celebrity a few posts back when she got the in-post shout-out! Be prepared for the full paparazzi treatment soon enough! :)

      I lol every time I think of that t-shirt.. you’re such a groupie.. I love it! :)

      1. Unfortunately, I haven’t been here since brocoflower (BTW brocoflower was somthing I thought only exsited in nightmares!!!) But I have been visiting the blog since “That bend in the pipe under the sink.” That bend has saved me a lot of necklaces! And I had read the book before the blog when I got the book for a birthday present. That’s how I found this incredible blog. After I finished the book, I looked again at the cover, saw the website, and exclaimed “There’s more!!! Yes!”

      2. Cool, right?! I’m thinking we’re ALL famous now! At McD’s today, I got a gigantic iced tea for only $1! Yes, my celebrity status is now earning me BIG perks…wooohooo! You all should try it, too! Just tell ’em you’re one of the celebrities on 1000 Awesome Things and you, too, can get your perks. My sister tried to tell me that all of their drinks are $1, but I know better…it was definitely my newfound status as a Famous Blog Commenter!

        Jdurley, the t-shirt rocks! I need a 1000 Awesome Things T-shirt!

        1. I’m thinking tshirts are in order!! But what to say??? There are so many good choices, like, 1000 of them!!

        2. Hahahahaha! Oh Kathy, I KNOW it was because of your celebrity status. Just think of all the other things you could score as a result of this newfound fame?! Things like 1/2 off drinks at Sonic from 2-4 pm, $1 McChicken sandwiches (anytime), $1 value fries from BK … I’m sure the list of exclusive discounts goes on and on for someone on your level of fame! HEY WAIT, I was a part of the shout-out posse; maybe I, too, will try to get a sweet celeb discount today … yeah! :)

  16. Hey everybody,

    I don’t know how many of you watch the Ellen Degeneres show, but if you do, I’m sure you agree that this is something that deserves to be on the show. I suggest we all send Ellen a message on her facebook page, tweet her, and email her all the stuff about 1000awesomethings that we can and get Neil on the show! More people need to know about this great part of our lives!

    1. Actually a pretty cool idea! I’d love to see Neil on Ellen! Way to spread the awesome movement!

    2. A while back we tried to start a Twitter trend to get Neil on the show … I think now’s a good time to resurrect that effort! Let’s do it!!

  17. I’ve never commented here before, but I’ve been reading your blog almost from its start. I just wanted to say, it’s fantastic.
    I can’t wait to see what you do next. I know it will be wonderful – now that you’ve captured the attention of thousands (millions?) people, the world is yours.

    Enjoy the metaphorical collapse onto bed after 4 years of writing this blog =)

  18. Am I the only one that has noticed how the fact that the countdown is in its top 10 (now top 5!! D: ) is bringing out all these new commenters, who have read for a long time but are only commenting now? When something great comes to an end you really find out who appreciates it!!

    1. Yeah, I’ve been reading for ages, but I’ve always been too shy to comment. Then I realized that we were in the top ten and I thought ‘Well… It’s now or never… You only live once after all.” I really regret not commenting before, though.

    2. I honestly just don’t feel the need to comment on anything. I rarely read other people’s comments and feel like I’m talking to myself in the rare times I do leave comments.

      1. Just realised my comment implies that people who don’t comment don’t appreciate Neil’s work- whoops! Of course you can appreciate it without commenting, as you were saying sjd07. Just I feel like there’s such a close group where everyone belongs here, it seems a shame for people to not comment and not be able to interact with this community here!

        1. Nono. At first that’s what I inferred from it but I realized that isn’t what you were trying to say. Don’t worry :)

          I just don’t thrive on connections I make on the internet with people I don’t know anymore so it’s not something I go out of my way to do. I’m thankful that communities like this exist, however. At one point in my life, they helped me get through the day to day.

  19. I like this one a lot. I love sleeping so it’s really hard for me to wake up early but it’s so rewarding when I actually do. I want to make it a habit to wake up earlier so I can really squeeze every drop from my days. Going to bed after a full, productive day is much sweeter anyway.

  20. It has been such a long day that this post is totally perfect! It is one of the best things in the world to collapse in bed after an extremely long day! I love this post! And for a post about sleeping, I’m sure using alot of exclamation marks!!!

  21. I’m really feeling this one lately. I have a bum hip (Just think of me as tragically hip ;) ) and it leaves me massively exhausted and soooo ready for my bed at the end of the day! Finally getting in bed and taking that pre-sleep stretch is so splendid ~ahhhhh~ Right after the end of Awesome here, my hip’s getting fixed (a new hindquarter!) so I’ll have mucho collapsing-into-bed-massively-exhausted time!
    Another awesome thing? When you’re in pain and you have an appt. in a LARGE med center with LONG halls and your sissy pushes you in a wheelchair so you don’t have to walk! Thanks sissy!

    1. Technically, I guess hip bones are rather large, but they don’t have a song called “Big Bones”…

        1. That is one sexy big bone song~post warning: Kathy, I think you’re going to need a little healing time!

  22. OMG, how cool is that newspaper write up?! It made me cry…yet again this week! LOL! I better buy some boxes of tissues to prep for the upcoming final posts. I remember how I found 1000 Awesome Things: a link showed up on PostSecret and I followed it here. So happy I did. :D I think I’ll even repost one of my earliest comments as I think it fitting for the end of the countdown…

    “I don’t think I’ve ever read anything as important as this blog. None of the world’s great literature seems nearly as momentous as your thoughts on the many awesome small things that comprise life. You change lives with these daily posts of wit and true wisdom. My life is better for reading them. Write on…”

    P.S. Will bedhead baby show up near the end?

    1. Yeah! Please show the bed head baby again! I have been wanting to see the baby in a new post for a long time!

  23. i never bothered leaving a comment before this but i thought before the 1000 ended i should get my thoughts out there. i have been reading the thousand since the 900s and enjoyed every moment. thankyou neil for brightening up every-awesome-day with awesome things i would never usually think about.
    whosthatgirl29

  24. magic fishy just like me i was too shy to comment and the top ten got me commenting. great minds think alike huh?

  25. “Give it your best, forget all the rest, and collapse at the end of the day.” – Words to live by.

    Your blog is amazing by the way – I love the idea of finding 1,000 positive things – yay, you!

    And congrats on the AWESOME press – well-deserved!

  26. I can’t go to Toronto DX.

    Neil, you have no idea how much this blog means to me. This blog kept me from going insane.

    Thank you, Neil. So much.

  27. Totally agree with this entry!! That long, exhausting day out and about, and suddenly you can just lie down and relax – great. Sad you are getting to the end of this countdown!

  28. It’s Saturday morning. You’ve just come back from the car wash and you’re beautiful, shinny car is sitting in the driveway. Don’t frame the windows. Do something beautiful. Take down a book instead, work on your garden,
    because it’s a beautiful day :)

  29. It’s me, Wendy! A blue bird said there were some songs I’m to hear, here from some Awesome friends, and since I can’t find my authentic way back here in Avatar blue, I had to get innovative! This is me though, with a positive attitude, eyes-wide-open awareness, authentically going out in colour purple style! Hi everybody!!! I have some catching up to do before it’s all over and still a plead for the blog in its entirety, Neil??????!!!!!!!*****

    While I was certain my brain was on fire and I stopped, dropped and rolled into bed last night, no fire man came to my rescue! Ha, ha, ha! But it was still awesome to be dead beat alive b/c I thought I was going to go out with a humbling bang~ Headlines: Shiney blue dress over head exposes Big-Butt of Blogger from B.C., Canada, AWESOME! I thought my brain was going to literally implode from the bright, HOT lights in my eyes and on my head last night on the stage! I thought about how many times you’ve moved into the spot-light, Neil, for Awesome, for us! And I knew, to be awesome, for SIFE, for our family, for Piques to be revealed, which is how we build homes and highlight businesses, from 3R’s and natural resources. Still, Neil, to go from shy to all you have is outstanding.

    Since I can’t be at this wednesday’s #1 party…(unlike Neil’s roady and awesome party gloater, jdurley;) My guess for #1 is Friends and Family…Miracles…LOVE!
    Really and truly the greatest thing of all:)
    xoz

    1. Well hello there stranger! Glad you got to come back, even if it is with a different square… purple is my favorite color, by the way.

  30. I had a long day yesterday and finished it off with an 11pm showing of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. It laughed so hard I cried and I might have wheezed once or twice. =p It was a fantastic ending to a great day and I’m sure I fell asleep in less than 3 seconds when I hit the bed.

    1. Completely off topic, I had a history teacher in high school who always said (not jokingly, either — seriously) Midnight Summer’s Dream.

      Teacher fail.

    2. Oh my gosh, the hardest and longest I have ever laughed in my whole life was at a performance of Midsummer Night’s Dream. By the end of the play, my face hurt, my makeup was gone, and my abs were crying out for no more!

      Laura: that’s a hilarious teacher fail!

  31. This is so so true! I just finished my final exam of my whole degree yesterday and came home and slept for 22 hours! There’s no better feeling than your bed after long, stressful days

    As a side note, I started reading this blog early on in my freshman year of school and to see it come to an end as I am graduating is very bittersweet. Some of these posts have helped me through the long days when I wasn’t sure I could keep up and keep going. It has been great to help me put things in perspective when I needed it the most :)

    1. Congratulations on completing your degree! I think it’s really cool that this blog has accompanied your school years. Now in your memories, school and awesomethings will always be associated together! Neat!

  32. Hey ….My bum aint num no more. Ah thats what Im talkin bout, Oh crap Im sleepin……..Maybe I will maybe I wont wake till the next Post… … Tired Dreams are so weird. Wake up Numbum , But I cant……

  33. That definitely happened to me last night (minus the ice cream break; substitute coffee) and it was wonderful!

  34. Reblogged this on 1000awesomefriends and commented:
    This post struck a chord with me like no other… I am someone who keeps going, keeps moving, never stops to let the moss grow on me. So when I hit the pillow, I am gone! AWESOME!
    Just two more sleeps till the Journey of Awesome continues! Are you with me? I can’t hear you… ARE YOU WITH ME? Yeah, that’s more like it! Get strapped in and enjoy the ride! :) Thank you to those who have been sharing their Awesome Thing through the Submit page or as a contributor. Some really great ideas already, AWESOME! :D

  35. That’s great, I love it when i do that. It’s so great to get home after a busy day and just lie down on your own bed and fall asleep.
    That’s the best way to sleep, you always have a good dream and wake up very well. I rarely have that feeling, but on the other hand when it comes I feel like i’m lying in the clouds.
    Yesterday I went to my football class and after it I thought that i would faint on my bed! Oh god it was so great to arrive home and see my bed looking at me and saying “Lie on me baby”.
    That’s the best blog ever.

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