Perpetual Ruminations

Sunday

I slept in this morning, instead of getting up with Rhonda. Normally, she sets the alarm and gets up at five, to get ready for work. I stay in bed for another hour, then she wakes me and I get up and have a cup of coffee with her. We also have a quick breakfast together before she leaves for work.

She didn't wake me this morning to get up, but instead told me to go back to sleep. She said she was running a little behind, and was about to leave for work, tucked me in, gave me a kiss and told me to have a good day. So, I did what I was told and was soon sleeping soundly, again. I woke up just a few minutes after nine, feeling well rested.

We even went to bed on time last night, so we had eight hours of sleep. We both have been very tired all week, and it's been a challenge to get to bed on schedule. With one person on vacation, we are short on help, so I worked an extra shift on Monday, closing and getting home a little after ten. Rhonda did the same on Wednesday, so both these nights kind of messed up our normal eight o'clock bed time. Of course, on our days off, we can actually stay up until nine, but both these days put us even behind on them.

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday we get up at three in the morning so I can get to work on time, but then on Sunday we don't have to get up until five. It sounds early, but it's getting to sleep in two hours later. We had also started getting up at five on Monday, one of my days off, and Tuesday and Wednesday, both of our days off. Of course this is work in progress, and as of yet we have not hit the time, but instead have hit the snooze a few time. Even so, we have been getting up by five-thirty, or a few times by six.

This last week we have had to adjust our morning wake-up to accommodate some later nights, so it's been six and seven when we have gotten up, except the mornings when I work, when it's still three o'clock. Now, the person on vacation will be back on Tuesday, so this week, our work week starts today, should be back to normal. And, we should be able to get back to our normal routine again.

But, I had a guy quit last week, and yesterday was his last day. I'm glad to be rid of him, he was always a problem, but it's left us short and now we have a new routine. Today, Sunday, will be the same, but no day off for me tomorrow. Instead, I will work tomorrow night closing and getting done with work at ten-thirty. Last week it was nine-thirty, so not too long after our normal bed time. But, this week starts summer hours, and the store is now open until ten, meaning I won't get out until ten-thirty.

Also, Rhonda and I will not have Tuesday and Wednesday off together. She will be off on Tuesday, when I cover her afternoon shift. Then on Wednesday, she will work so I can get a day off. This will be our normal routine now until we get someone hired and trained in. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks, because in April I lose another person, and we will also start providing double coverage four days a week.

But, this is not why Rhonda let me sleep in this morning. She let me sleep because I was up in the middle of the night for an hour with a terribly sore throat. I started to feel the discomfort on Saturday evening. I thought it was just irritated from something, and was hoping by Saturday morning it would feel fine. No such luck. Instead, I woke up to a pretty sore throat yesterday morning. It didn't get any better through the day, but it didn't get any worse, either.

By last night, however, it was getting more intense, agitated by talking and eating dinner. By the time we went to bed, I was in enough discomfort from it that it made getting to sleep difficult. But, I was tired, and despite it being sore, I fell into a deep sleep rather quickly. I slept hard until midnight, when I woke up with an even more intense pain in my throat. It felt like a hot searing pain right behind my Adam's apple. To swallow was cheer torture, and I cold not get back to sleep.

I finally gave up at a quarter after twelve last night and came downstairs. I sipped on some cool water, but that did nothing to stop the intense pain in my throat. Even swallowing water hurt almost too bad to drink. I had to pee, so I took care of that, then began looking for some throat lozenges. By now, Rhonda had gotten up, used the bathroom, and was asking me if I was alright. I couldn't talk and had to whisper to her that I needed something to ease the pain in my throat. I had already taken some pain medication, over the counter stuff, and needed a throat lozenge to suck on to hit the spot directly while I waited for the others to kick in.

She found them right away, but I'm not sure where. then she was off for bed, since she had to get up at five, and I sat up and sucked on a Sucrets. I also made myself a cup of hot tea, herbal tea that is, and sweetened it with some honey. the tea was a wellness blend of herbs with a touch of mint to sooth the throat, and the honey would also help to sooth. Along with the throat lozenge, I was quickly relieving my discomfort and by one-thirty this morning I was returning to bed.

I managed to sleep the rest of the night, and because of the sore throat and being up in the middle of the night, Rhonda let me sleep in. The extra sleep did wonders, but my throat is still sore. not as bad as it was last night, and not even as sore as it was yesterday, but it's still sore. Other than the pain, however, I feel pretty good. I do not feel like I'm sick, especially with the added sleep. In fact, I would feel pretty good if my throat didn't hurt.

I'll have to keep some Sucrets with me all day, and I'll have to sip on some more hot tea. But for now, it's coffee to wake me up and get me started for the day. I have plenty to do before I go in to work. I'll eat dinner before I leave, but I think instead of a thermos of coffee tonight, I'll bring in hot water and some wellness tea, sweetening it with a bit of honey.