Monday, August 8, 2011

Hey Hey What Can I Do

I never knew how much I'd appreciate sleep until I got older.

When I was a kid/teenager, it was a major feat to me if I could stay up all night during the summer. My friend Kirsten spent most of those summers at my house and we would stay up all night talking, listening to music, calling the radio station to request songs in the middle of the night.

The only picture of the two of us from junior high that Kirsten may possibly not kill me for posting (she's on my FB). Fashion in the mid-90's was cruel. I think we're 15-ish here.

Then we would sleep till 2 or 3 in the afternoon and do it all over again the next night. And we would be none the worse for the wear!

Even during the school year, I liked to stay up late. I loved watching all the late-night comedy shows. My mum knew I was doing it, and she let me as long as I could get myself up for school every day with no problems and my marks didn't suffer. I would stay up till 2:30 or 3, and would be ready to learn by 8:30 in the morning. Once again, no ill effects!

As I got older and went to university, oddly enough my sleep patterns evened out. I was one of those nerds that went to college to learn instead of party. And it became harder on my body and mind if I stayed up late.

Fast-forward to the Chuckles Years.

Click to see what he's reading in bed...that should have been a warning!

When I first was married to him, I had to go through the immigration process. I couldn't work for two years, and we only had one vehicle. I stayed at home a LOT. His sleep schedule became my sleep schedule. Went to bed kinda early with him (bow-chicka-wow-wow), got up at 5am with him (not so bow-chicka-wow-wow).

Even on the weekends he'd get up at 5. "Why would anyone want to sleep the day away?" he'd say. "What a waste!"

And he was kinda right. I began to enjoy mornings. I would be up early, sipping my coffee. I started eating breakfasts. I got a lot of gardening, cleaning, reading, etc, done. I would be still awake enough in the evenings that I would make elaborate dinners. I really enjoy cooking when I have the time and energy to do it.

Then I started working. And not only working, but at a job with full-time unpredictable hours. Eight to nine hours on my feet. On a concrete floor with an 1/8 of an inch carpet between it and my feet. Heavy mental exhaustion from dealing with crazy people all day.



Most of the time, I think I wouldn't enjoy a nine to five, Monday to Friday sort of job. I've had those before, and they get tediously boring after a short while. Except that I would get to see Chuck more often.

Chuck used to have as unpredictable work as I did, but it left a lot of his weekdays free. We'd often have a whole Monday, Thursday, etc, off together, when he was subcontracting work off of many drywall contractors. We'd go on 'adventures' on the spur of the moment.

Now, the economy's changed and so has the nature of Chuck's drywall work. He's more of a Monday to Saturday guy now, working for one dude. I rarely have Sundays off. I work nights, while he's at home. Or I work days and we're both home at night, but too tired to even talk. Dinner is something frozen tossed in the oven. And sleep...



All the managers take turns closing at the store. Some months, one person seems to get to do it more than the others. This month it seems to be me. It isn't done on purpose, it just happens that way.

I don't mind closing. When I get home, I'm wound up from work and can't sleep right away. I end up reading usually, get caught up in a book, and stay up till 3:30. Then I sleep till about 10:30 or 11. Then I have to leave for work again at 2. I enjoy the sleeping in, but I feel like I'm wasting my day. Weeds are getting tall, house is getting dirty, blogs are going unwritten...

Chuck is also not an easy person to sleep with. I call him 'Starfish'.



He tosses and turns. When he is sleeping, he's snoring or elbowing me in the back. This week has been particularly bad. I haven't had anywhere near a full night's sleep in about that long.



I'm starting to daydream about sleep. I never used to be like that.

I hear some of you with children saying, "You don't even KNOW tired! You don't have kids! If you had kids, then you'd really be exhausted!"

And you're correct. That's why I don't have any kids. I don't even have a dog.

I don't even have a goldfish.

Too much tiring responsibility when I'm already beat.

And I also hear some of you older folk (hehe, I called you 'older folk') saying "You're only 30! Once you reach [some random middle/old age] like me, then you'll really be tired!"

You're right again. But that doesn't change the fact that I'm already really tired now. I'll just be more tired when I reach your age.

I think I need to exercise and change my diet.

Stop reading at night.

Buy a king size bed.

And put a gag on my Starfish.




7 comments:

Alison said...

As a chronic insomnia sufferer I would never ever make light of someone's lack of/need for a good night's sleep, whatever the cause. I hope your sleep cycle gets sorted out. Exercise and eating right will probably help (I recently started exercising, and I am sleeping better).

I once slept next to someone at a sleepover, when I was a teenager, who was a "starfish." Yikes! My husband snores, but at least when he's asleep, he still seems to have an awareness of personal boundaries.

Liz said...

Hi Kyna,

Sorry to hear you're suffering so much... You could always get separate beds!! haha
My mum recently told me they're getting separate beds; to which I told her to shoot me if that ever happens for me.

I do understand chuck's pov when he says why waste the day, that's exactly how I feel too. Especially when working the weekend is just so precious that I hate to sleep in until anything past 8am - usually up earlier. I can't have more than 7 hours sleep otherwise I feel like someone ran me over. So even when working I go to bed around 1am in order to get up at 6:30 or 7. Works fine for me.

Marguerite said...

I remember staying up late and sleeping all day as a teenager, what fun! Now if I don't get 8 hours or more I get blinding migraines. Not fun. ditto me for the king size bed.

Kris said...

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...wha...? Huh? Oh, sorry. I musta dozed off reading this important and riveting possssssssssttt...zzzzz.

*snark* Hope you catch some Z's soon. (Maybe try the RESTroom at work.)

Kyna said...

Chuck has no idea what he's doing when he's sleeping. He's also an angry sleeper. I'll ask him if I can keep watching TV while he goes to sleep because I'm not tired, he'll say sure, no problem! Then in 10 minutes something on tv will wake him up, and he'll theatrically jam his pillow over his head and make some grumpy comment. I'll leave so I can go watch tv and fall asleep in another room. In the morning he'll be sad that I left and have no recollection of the sleep-rage.

Liz: Most of the time I do sleep in a seperate place, or I wouldn't get any sleep. I love Chuck more than breathing, but I still need to get some sleep or I can't function. I already sleep with earplugs to cut out the snoring. Sometimes the snoring cuts right through and I have to leave anyway. I need complete dark and complete quiet to sleep. Not to mention complete motionlessness. If someone flopping around on the bed next to me like a porpoise, that does not bode well for the sleep factor.

Marguerite: I've never had a migraine, and I hope I never do. Yuck :(

Kris: None of my posts are riveting anymore, I'm too. Effing. Tired. :P

LOL! I got a bit of sleep last night, and the next couple of days I open at work, so maybe I'll feel more normal. Till next week, when I have a bunch of closes again lol.

The Idiot said...

Vodka and painkillers; that't the way to a good night!

I'm a fucking nightmare to sleep with (apparently). I thrash, kick, snore, flip around; I'm like an epileptic on acid.

Mrs IG has a spare bed, in the spare room. She sneaks off once I'm asleep. It works for us both.

I must admit, I do resent sleep. It's just eating my life away.

Melissa said...

I was a non-sleeper until age 43...then I got Ambien. I sleep great. In fact, right now, I'm going to toddle off to bed, pop one and fall asleep right away. But I can't get shit done anymore...I've lost four hours multiplied by every day of my life.

and riddle me this...which is worse? a starfish or a walrus?