Perpetual Ruminations

Saturday

It's still Saturday, honest. At least here, in South Dakota, for another thirty minutes...

It's after eleven and I'm just getting in here now. Part of the problem is it's Saturday, even though the counter here will log this as Sunday. It's the time difference between WdC and South Dakota that does that. Anyway, Saturdays and Mondays are my longest days at work, running right at twelve hours or a little more. I'm up at three, or shortly after by the time I drag my sorry butt out of bed, and I'm working by five. I work straight through until five, sometimes five- thirty or even six, then it's come home and collapse in a heap on the floor.

Well, maybe not quite that dramatic, but it feels like it most times. Actually I come home, fix something to eat and collapse in my chair. Of course, I tend to not get much sleep on Friday nights, and then the same holds true on Sunday nights. This week, I did better and got six hours of sleep in on Thursday night. Even so, I was beat on Friday and that lead me to getting myself to bed earlier last night. I must have gotten another six hours of sleep last night, too.

This may not sound like a lot to some, but for me, that's usually the total of hours slept for the entire weekend, not two nights. Even so, I was very tired this afternoon, so when I got home, I skipped eating and just relaxed with a bottle of beer and spent a half hour with the dogs. Then I collapsed into bed instead of my chair and slept most of the evening. I didn't sleep hard, waking up about every hour to run to the bathroom, but I was right back to sleep after, and didn't get up until Rhonda called after work.

That's why I'm so late getting in here to write tonight, I slept away the evening and got up with Rhonda after she got home from work. I'll have a little ice cream with her before going back to bed, and hopefully I will not be so exhausted  tomorrow. Sunday's are better just because I don't have to be to work until eight, which means I get to sleep in to about six. However, I'm usually up just as late as I am tonight, so it's still only about six hours of sleep or less. Tonight it will be six hours, plus what ever I got snoozing this evening. I don't know why I'm so tired this weekend, but there has to be some reason, even if I don't know what.

Now, if I can get to bed early again tomorrow night, since Monday will be another long day, and another early one, I will have managed to get a decent amount of sleep for the entire working weekend. That's a first for me, and may even have mu up early during my three days off. That would be nice, since I tend to sleep in all three mornings. Of course, I'm up late, too. Even so, it seems I sleep about nine or ten hours on my days off, in compensation I suppose for my five or less hours most nights when I'm working.

Maybe, just maybe, this marks a turning point in that messed up sleeping pattern. I have been trying for months  to get myself to bed earlier, especially on my working days. But, it seems every time I do make a little progress in the right direction, something goes haywire and I end up falling back further than I gained. I'm not going to say for sure that I have it working now, but it's looking like I've made a big move in the right direction this weekend, and that's a good start. Now, if I can just keep things going so I don't loose out on what I've gained.

Two more days, one easy one at nine hours, and then a twelve hour monster, then three days off. Also, the person who was going to quit and take another job, has informed me that she did not get the position. We also were not successful at filling her position, so I talked to her and let her stay on, even though she has turned in a letter of resignation. Actually, two of them, one for the first of the month of July, then when the job didn't start for her until they checked into her references and information more, I let her post a second letter for the first of August. Now, I talked to her again, and it sounds like she will be with us for the rest of the summer, possibly longer.

That means less stress and a continuation of our three days off together. Rhonda and I, that is. This should also help in keeping ahead on the sleep depravation problem I've been struggling with. It's all looking good for getting past my past problem of minimal sleep, and maybe, just maybe, starting a good habit of getting at least six hours of sleep a night, more most nights.

Now, it's off to grab them six, plus my snoozing hours from earlier this evening...