(Lack of) Sleep

I haven't been sleeping so well lately. More specifically, I haven't been sleeping well since the week before Easter. Neither has Jordan. I think all of the late-night rehearsals messed up our schedules. Allergies may also be a factor. I've felt like absolute poo since the pollen came out. Whatever the cause, Jordan and I have been pulling some all-nighters. Or at least some "3:00 a.m.-ers". Jordan has been staying up, which means that I have to stay up, lest he have a full run of the house.

Now, one of the perks of homeschooling is that my family can "make our own schedule". Which is great! As long as we're talking about staying out a little late to go out to dinner or to the movies. Stuff like that. Its nice to be able to do things without worrying about being at school by 7:45 a.m. the next morning. We take advantage of this perk often. But, for the most part, we are still on a schedule. Or we were until recently.

I began to find that I could just not get up at 8:00 in the morning after only 5 hours of sleep. I had no trouble doing this when I was in high school. Guess I'm getting old. Anyway, after staying up all night for several nights, I began to slide a little in the mornings. By sleeping in until I woke up on my own. I'm embarrassed to say that this was sometimes 11:00. Yes, I would seriously sleep until lunchtime! And so would Jordan. Then, I would get up and try to stumble through my day. Still exhausted, after all that sleep. Attempt to rush through school with Shaun. All of us were grouchy. Then night time would come and the whole cycle would begin again. Now, sometimes, we had places to be in the mornings. Which would make everything worse! Jordan hasn't napped in over a year, so on some days he would be running on 3-4 hours of sleep. Not good!

Last week, I had enough. I talked it over with Chris and we decided to purchase some Benedryl for Jordan. Dye free, of course. We gave him a dose one night last week. And....voila! We're back on our sleep schedule. Or at least Jordan is. I'm not. I've still been a night owl. Enjoying my "free time" and paying for it the next day.

But enough is enough. I'm tired (ha ha!) of feeling sluggish and slouchy all of the time. Tired of being grouchy. Tired of being forgetful and disorganized. Tired of looking tired. So I made myself a rule. I will be in bed (and asleep) by midnight and up by 8:00 the next day. No exceptions. So, no more reading all night long. No more late-night phone conversations (you know who you are!) or 1:00 a.m. Facebook chats (and you know who you are!). I suppose I should also vow to not visit the RedBox anymore, too, since I am never able to start watching a movie until after 10:00.

Since its already 11:59 tonight, I will begin tomorrow. I. Will. Be. In. Bed. By. Midnight. Tomorrow. Yes I will.