Friday Nov. 14

All week long, I've been really tired. That's mostly because I've been up too late each night, reading a book or checking emails or playing scrabble online with umpteen different people. (anyone else want to play? it's addictive & fun!!!) Rather than get in bed at a decent hour, I find myself drawn to finish just "one more chapter" or talk to one more person. I tell ya...I'm a communication junkie. If I'm awake, I want to be connecting with someone on some level. And once Larry dozes off, I feel silly talking to the wall or myself, so my online time is special to me!




Now, generally speaking, I have NO PROBLEM falling asleep at night. In fact, it drives Larry crazy that I am usually asleep within a matter of MOMENTS (not MINUTES) after my head hits the pillow. However, once in a great while I have trouble sleeping. Last night was one of those nights. This time, though, I know exactly why.

Remember, I have been tired all week. And then last night I had to go grocery shopping. I'm sure I looked like a walking zombie in the store. It was one of those times where I don't even remember the drive to the store because I was so sleepy....those times when you just have to praise God that you made it there safely because you don't remember turning here & there along the way. Anyway, after reaching the store & making the first couple aisles, I knew I needed a quick shot of energy, so I grabbed a Dr. Pepper.

I swear......when will I learn my lesson? You'd think that I would know better by now after all the times that I've been up til 3:00 in the morning. I don't have a problem w/ caffiene during the day, but after about 6-7pm, wow... NOT a good idea! It keeps me up all night. And sure enough.... at 2:20 this morning, I finally felt like I was getting drowsy, so I crawled into bed & zonked out.


At 5:45, Sarah walked into our room, all panicked & scared, "barking" & wheezing. She was having a croup/asthma attack. This is nothing new to us. She's had asthma problems since she was a year old. Last Spring was our first bout with Croup, but once you've dealt with it, you will never forget that seal bark-sounding cough. Even though we've been dealing with her asthma trouble for years now, there are always a few scary moments between the onset of the attack until you get the nebulizer hooked up & get the medicines flowing. This time it must've really scared her because as I sat on the couch with her, snuggling her while she breathed in the good medicines to open up her lungs, she cried & asked me "Am I going to be ok?". Poor baby, she was really scared.


If you'll recall, I didn't fall asleep til 2:20. I woke up at 5:45. You do the math. Yes ...I got just over 3 hours of sleep last night. Yawn!


I made it through my day at work without passing out, ran a few errands after picking up the kids at school and then came back home to get ready for our evening. We had a couple of errands to run, but ultimately our goal for the evening was to end up at the front entrance of the mall, standing aside a red kettle with bells in our hands. That's right. We took a shift for the Salvation Army tonight. The kids loved it. Everyone took a turn ringing the bells & wearing the aprons. Savannah decided early on that it was her job to greet everyone. And EVERY person who passed by, going into or out of the mall, got a greeting from her. It was so funny to watch her trying to catch the eyes of EVERY person. One man who looked like a mall janitor came out of the mall doors & she said "Hello". When he didn't respond, she said "Good evening!". He still didn't react. When he didn't, she practically shouted "HIIIIIIIIIIIIII". And to top it off, at the moment this was happening, he was the ONLY PERSON on the sidewalk, so it wasn't like he could possibly be confused about who she was talking to. It wasn't until after we came home that it occured to me....maybe he was deaf. Who knows? Anyway, we got lots of smiles, lots of friendly people who greeted us in return, and lots of people who completely ignored us. It was fun to people watch & see if there was a trend in who gave the most (men/women, particular ethnicities, young/old, etc). It was interesting to see who responded because of the kids & who walked up holding money because they already planned to give. All in all, it was a good evening.

And now.........I'm going to go crash. I intend to sleep til at least 8:00 in the morning. If you happen to read this & plan to call me in the morning, please don't. (or at least hold off til after 8!) I am sooooooooo sleepy.