It’s been a while since I wrote anything about the family… It seems I’ve been on a poetry bender for the last several months, and have left the more weighty matters to moulder. I can’t for the life of me understand why it is that I feel inclined to make up silly rhymes to go with stupid pictures, but I guess I find it somewhat therapeutic to pull myself away from the world of analytical and sterile language that dominates my days at work. Unfortunately, that probably means that the three or so family members who have ever read this blog, and did so for the sole intent of looking at pictures of grand-children and hearing stories about them, have probably given up on reading it.
By hook, crook, or miracle we have managed to hit a relatively stable stretch on the road of life. The kids continue to learn and grow in regular form and fashion. The animals are doing what animals do. I go to work every day wishing I could find a way to make being a hobby farmer profitable enough to quit my day job and knowing that wouldn’t really be any better if I managed to do it. Liz works amazingly hard to make sure the kids have access to an outstanding education. It feels like I’m tempting fate when I write (or even think) it, but I don’t have good materials to work with when it comes to spinning yarns. In reality, I am sure life is as interesting as it has ever been, but the creative juices aren’t flowing at the moment. It’s likely a consequence of sleep deprivation.
A little over a week ago, I was on a flight from Munich (Germany) to Washington D.C.. By the time we landed in D.C., I had been up for nearly 24 hours and wasn’t thinking clearly. I grabbed my backpack from under the seat in front of me (the only carry-on bag I generally have) and headed off the plane towards customs. About 20 minutes later as I grabbed my checked bag I realized I didn’t have my stupid Darth Vader Device (DVD) – also known as a CPAP. In fear of having to go without it in the moderately likely event that my bag got lost I had opted to carry the DVD as a second carry-on bag and stuck it in the overhead bin. That was five days ago… The dumb thing still hasn’t surfaced.
As a result of my absent-mindedness, not only did I have to deal with the jet-lag associated with jumping seven time zones without being able to sleep on the plane, but now I’ve reverted to the half-zombie state I dealt with for several years before I was diagnosed and treated for sleep apnea. It’s hard to believe I managed to function at all back then. I’m pretty sure I was only half-conscious for several years. It’s really rough going back to that state of being.
I’ve given up on the airline finding the DVD and have had the medical folks order me a new one. Hopefully the insurance will cover it, but if not I don’t really have much of a choice at this point. I can’t function like this much longer. Falling asleep in meetings with high-profile visitors is bad enough (something I narrowly avoided twice in the last two days). Falling asleep in traffic is an outcome I really want to avoid.