Yesterday should have been a bad day. It was my day to do bookkeeping for my husband’s consulting business and the computer decided not to talk to the printer, or the other way around––whatever they were both in need of major counseling, which I left to my husband, the computer whisperer. For my part, having nothing to show for five hours of work I decided to take advantage of a break in the clouds and make a dent in the huge pile of mulch, that, every year, sets off a string of rainy days the minute it hits the driveway.
Shovel, shovel, shovel. Roll wheelbarrow. Dump mulch. Rake, rake. Then back to start all over again. It was tiring work. I can’t quite say I enjoyed it. What I did enjoy was having the energy to do it.
I don’t like quitting a job until it’s done or I’ve reached a reasonable stopping point, but when I hit 50 my energy level suddenly crashed. Sleep issues caused by menopause and stresses left me lethargic. Studies indicate, and I verified, sleep deprivation leads to carb cravings. Never one to snack before that, every hour on the hour now found me munching on hard pretzels, crackers or potato chips. The extra pounds made me more lethargic. A job that would have taken me hours, now took days. Was this the beginning of the rest of my life?
Apparently not. It’s over now. I manage to sleep a good eight hours most nights, and when the sleep came, the cravings left along with the extra pounds.
I’m exhausted from my day’s work, but I managed to mulch along the entire front of the house before quitting. A job well done and I’m thrilled I had the energy to do it.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
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4 comments:
Farmer Nannette, Ooooh, I have lovely bed in front of the house that needs mulching. Wanna come over and spend some of that energy? ;-)
I know what you mean about the sleep deprivation. I'm glad to hear you've conquered the sleep stealers!
Sleep deprivation, what a terrible thing. (Had it for years with 3 babies in 36 months...then it starts to develop into sleep habits.)
If you'd like a change of scenery for yard work, come on down! I've got some beautiful weather here in LA for you to enjoy while you weed the flowerbeds! ;)
I've mentioned this in other places, but it was my iPod that saved me. I listen to audiobooks at night.The main thing was breaking that cycle of panic I fell into when I woke during the night or too early in the morning, worrying, and then being certain I wouldn't fall back to sleep.Thinking of all the things I had to do that would suffer from my fatigue. Just knowing I have something to fall back on that isn't a drug relaxes me. Now I often find that I've fallen back to sleep before I get around to turning the iPod back on.
I am like you - I will do a task until it's DONE even if I'm exhausted, or at least until I am at some point I decide is done enough until I can finish it later...
I find my energy is coming back too - but I did change my diet.
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