Sleep is a really big, huge freaking deal to me. After years and years of sleep deprivation for one reason or another, in the last year I finally started getting fairly decent sleeps. What it has made me realize is how completely overtired and drained I was and how much I never, ever want to go back to the complete brain fog that was my life.

But, sometimes it happens.

Last Sunday for example, I managed to get myself all wound up and upset about something. Add that to the fact that I ripped up my shoulder and was in a lot of pain, some general part of life stress (we are moving, we are busy – general stuff), and having to worry about whether they were going to cancel school the next day led to a night of flip flop non-sleep. 

As an aside, every night when I think they’re going to cancel school but don’t make the call until the morning I never sleep well. There’s no reason for that. The kids really are fun to have around, we don’t have to rearrange schedules and I always wake up before the call comes in anyway. But for some reason on a day when it would really do me well to be rested so I can enjoy a day with the kids I wake up a million times looking to see if school has been cancelled. 

So, even though I had done my bedtime routine and was all tucked in nice and early I felt like crap Monday morning. Not just overtired, but super sore (thank you shoulder). The less I slept the more I seemed to twist around that shoulder until my whole back and hips hurt too (because if you’re going to do something you may as well do it right). I tried to fake a good mood Monday, but I had a major case of the bah-humbugs. Tuesday was better, but not by much. By Wednesday I was feeling human again, and then Thursday thanks to another decent sleep and a massage was feeling closer to normal.

But, it made me realize I’m only one bad sleep away from being a total disaster. Because my reserves are still low it really does not take long to become a sleep deprived mess. And, let me tell you – a tired Melissa is not a good Melissa to be around. 

It made me really grateful that I did have my sleep routine. Whiney as I was for a couple of days, at least I was able to get things back on track. It also made me feel for my sister (and other new moms) who is right in the midst of huge sleep deprivation. 

My thought for the day is “I love sleep, and sleep loves me!”