Tag: Sleep

  • When Was the Last Time You Felt Rested?

    The wife asked me that yesterday morning. We both hadn’t slept well the night before. She kept tossing and turning, while I just couldn’t fall asleep. The result was two adults that felt tired. Hence why she asked that question; when was the last time I felt fully rested.

    I wanted to say the last vacation we took, but I know that’s not true. Even when we do get away, even for a few days, I can’t help but wake up when I normally would during the week. So it’s like even when I want to sleep, my body won’t let me.

    On the weekends, we take turns sleeping in. She gets to sleep in on Saturday, and I get to sleep in on Sunday. But saying that we get to “sleep in” is a bit of a stretch. See, when one gets up early, what that really means is that the other can continue lying in bed. Sometimes you fall back asleep after the other one gets up, but most likely, you just lay there in bed looking at your phone.

    Which gets back to the question, full rested? When was that?

    It wasn’t my forties, because the kid. I love her, but between her waking us up, and the general worry that comes with being a parent – no rest here.

    My thirties? That was the decade of establishing my career, so no resting to be found there.

    My twenties? Who rested in their twenties? I know I didn’t. Lots of late nights and early mornings, and I don’t think I would trade any of them for anything.

    So, the last time I felt rested was when I was a teenager, and slept in till noon every weekend, and took a nap after school every day. Yeah, that’s my guess, and I want to say that guess is completely wrong. I was teenage angsty worn out. No rested to be found there.

    So, my honest guess is twelve. When I was twelve, and only had to watch cartoons, ride my bike, and not fail a grade.

    I guess what I am trying to say is that I think the next time I will feel rested will be retirement.

    And I really hope it’s retirement.

  • What Did I Do Today?

    I over slept, for one.

    I made a breakfast of cereal because I was tired.

    I walked the dog.

    I woke my daughter up.

    I made my daughter breakfast.

    I had a long conversation with my daughter because she felt sad and anxious.

    I started laundry and finished laundry.

    I made my family lunch.

    I fell asleep on the couch watching an old episode of Great British Baking Show.

    I cleaned the kitchen.

    Made a Thanksgiving grocery shopping list.

    I listened to The Beatles’ Anthology 4 while folding laundry.

    I am currently writing a blog.

    I still have to walk the dog.

    I still have to shower.

    I still have to make dinner.

    I still have to clean the kitchen again.

    I still have to make the coffee for the morning.

    I still have to put the kid to bed.

    I still have to play MarioKart and try and beat the final circuit in the Mirror Level.

    I still have to snuggle with my wife on the couch as we watch Tracker.

    I still have to put my wife to bed.

    I still have to watch part three of Ken Burn’s The American Revolution.

    I still have to go to bed.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Tired, Mushroom Stock, and Writing in a Cafe

    ODDS and ENDS: Tired, Mushroom Stock, and Writing in a Cafe

    (Have you got nothing to say?)

    I need more sleep. I think I have been saying this since I was fifteen years old. And I like naps, but what I am here to talk about is that I need more of the bedtime type of sleep. And what I also need is for my body to stop waking up between 5:30a and 6a in the morning. That I think is what is holding me back. Sure, I could go to bed earlier – that’s logical. But what is more logical is for my brain to stay turned off until 7a or 8a. That would be the biggest help. See, if I go to bed at 9p to 10p, my body wakes up at 5:30a. If I go to bed at midnight or 1a, again, the body wakes me up at 5:30a. I’ve tried to explain to my brain and body that all the cool shit in the world happens between 11p and 2a – its a magical time. So, if we could adjust that internal wake up call, then all parties would be happy. Could you do that for me?

    I make my own mushroom stock for Thanksgiving. I’m not bringing this up to toot my own horn here, as the recipe I use is stupidly simple. Anyone could do it. No, the reason I bring this up is because not too long ago, at least in Manhattan anyway, it was easy to get mushroom stock at virtually any grocery store. Then all of a sudden it disappeared. Couldn’t get it anywhere. I could order it online, but to do that, I had to buy in bulk, like six cartons, when all I needed was just one quart. Same thing with shrimp/seafood stock. It just disappeared from the store shelves.

    I write in a cafe now. Not all the time, but a few days a week. Nothing special here, just something that I started doing again. It took about a month, but now the guys who work at the cafe recognize me, and get my coffee ready when I walk in the door. It’s a part of being a “regular” in New York City that makes living here cool.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Sleepy, Stuffy, and the Difference Between Avenues and Streets

    ODDS and ENDS: Sleepy, Stuffy, and the Difference Between Avenues and Streets

    (And who thought this was a good idea?!)

    I can’t get enough sleep. I’m not saying that I have a medical condition, or anything to be alarmed about. No, this more has to do with getting older, my body needs more sleep, but I still have a lot of shit to do. Sure, I could go to bed earlier, I mean any idiot could do that, but this feels more like being thirsty. No matter how much I drink, I’m still thirsty. No matter how much I sleep, I just want to sleep more. That’s what I want; not that my body agrees with that, because my body will wake me up somewhere between 5:30 and 6am. That is rather annoying. But even when this happens, and even if I get eight hours of sleep. I’m still tired and I want to sleep more. This is also why I am a fan of, and take naps daily.

    All our noses are stuffed up. The wife and the kid are getting over a cold, so that makes sense. Me? I just I have a sympathy stuffed up nose. When the wife was pregnant and was eating for two, I also eat for two. I easily put on ten pounds. I guess it could be the same thing.

    For those of you who don’t live in New York City, and specifically Manhattan, streets run east to west, and avenues run north to south. Also, the space between avenues is much longer as compared to streets which is much shorter. Just so you know. And please, if you are a tourist, remember this when you come and visit the City.

  • ODDS and ENDS: My Head Hurts, (Place Holder), and SOUP!

    (Revved up like a deuce…)

    I didn’t sleep well last night, so I know that’s the main reason, but man, my head hurts. On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being barely there and 10 being the worst pain imaginable, I would say I am at a 2. But the pain in behind my left eye, going up the left side of my head and ending at the back of my skull. Usually, when I get pain behind an eye, that is the red flag of a migraine. But like I said, the pain is low and that leads me to believe that this will become a dreaded migraine. In fact, it’s been years since I had one. I used to get migraines a handful of times a year, while normal headaches would happen at least once a week. You might find this hard to believe, but this would happen to me back when I was working a normal 9 to 5 job. I think it had everything to do with stress, and now I don’t live as stressful of a life, but there are still stresses.

    (Place Holder for a good idea)

    You know who loves soup? Me and my wife. You know who hates soup? My kid. You know who is willing to try any food you put in front of them, except soup? That is also my kid. I find this so confusing about her. I’ve asked her often, what is it about soup that you hate? And she just says, I don’t like soup? But she likes ramen. She loves when we make a Japanese hotpot at home. She loves getting pho. But soup. Even a normal basic chicken noodle soup, she hates. And this hatred for soup has been growing. The kid won’t touch a stew, or gumbo. My friend made a really great gazpacho the other day, and she refused to try it. The wife and I are getting a little worried as we are getting closer to Autumn, and we have soup plans. (And I realize how funny and odd that last sentence was.) There’s a clam chowder I want to make, and the wife has her eye on a couple of different French stews that she wants to try. We both found a mushroom soup recipe that we want to try, and I found a video of a Japanese vegetable soup that think would be perfect for a cool Fall lunch. I mean, we are going to move forward with the soup plans, I just really don’t want to leave the kid behind, nor turn her off to the idea of soup for the rest of her life. You know, like how people who ate too much canned tuna as a kid can never have anything with tuna in it, no matter how well prepared it is. I don’t want that to happen to the kid. But… soup. SOUP!