Running On Empty

The last few days I have felt exhausted. I had no symptoms that indicated any illness. However, I have felt like I was hit by a train and while on the ground a ton of bricks was dropped on top of me. The way I have been feeling reminds me of when my mother used to say, “Boy, you’re burning the candle at both ends”. The truth is I don’t even own a candle. At this point in my life all I do is come to work five days a week and entertain a seven year old granddaughter most weekends. Work nights I am generally free although as a married man there always seems to be a stop that needs to be made on the way home and a chore that needs to be completed. I guess my age is catching up with me. I just don’t have the energy and endurance that I had when I was a younger man. Sometimes you just have to accept such realities. Every stage of life has its good side and its bad side. Of course, age is relative. Compared to my 82 year old mother, I am young. Compared to many of my co-workers, I am old. In fact I am older than many of my co-workers parents. My exhaustion is not just age. I am one of millions of people who are sleep deprived. The eight hour work day is a myth. I get up for work at 6:00 AM and it is usually close to 6:00 PM before I get home. I am also not a person who can go to bed early. I love early morning and late night. This is a bad combination for a working man. So, I get my six hours of sleep every night, if I am lucky, and I take a nap whenever I can. I wish there was some time built into the workday for an afternoon siesta. That would be awesome.