Time Just Keeps Slippin, Slippin, Slippin into the Future

My single goal for tomorrow is to arrive at my job BEFORE the end of the third period. See, I teach in period four. On Tuesday I arrived 6 minutes into period four, or putting it more bluntly, I was LATE for my job. Ironically, the associate dean of students had my class covered. In fact a substitute and the dean were in the room when I got there. Of course, the substitute was for another teacher and had the wrong room. The dean was making sure that things were fine. I literally walked in as he asked, "So, where is Mr. Main?" Fast forward to today. I managed to walk into the school during the five minutes of passing time between period three and period four. I avoided being late by all of four minutes - yeah!

Needless to say, I would like to avoid that happening again - ever. The reality, though, is that I am having trouble tracking time this week. Strange as that sounds, it is the truth. I have had a few other days recently when I have struggled to get to work with time to spare. I have always rebounded the next day. Today, knowing that I suddenly realized how late it was on Tuesday, I was focused on the clock throughout the morning. Somehow, I was still caught off guard when I realized it was 9:30 AM and getting close to the danger zone yet again. Frighteningly, even that realization resulted in me moving slow enough to arrive literally in the nick of time.

The upside to both mornings is that I did not panic. I drove safely and managed to laugh at myself in a healthy way. Of course, that might also be part of the problem - not panicking when you might be late for work. The other insight from these past few days is that I am definitely experiencing cyclical elements within my narcolepsy. I believe it was a month ago that I had a similar week. I definitely need to chart these things far more accurately to get a clear picture, but a pattern is there. I also must do a better job of maintaining a set schedule. I have pushed myself well past 10 PM the last two nights. I missed my 1 AM dose this morning and took it at 2 AM. Clearly, I need to hold to a strict regimen when it comes to getting into bed and getting up in the morning. Even slight changes seem to derail my day, and I am painfully aware that major deviations result in monumental problems - like not getting to class on time.

I am grateful that I continue to learn about my condition, but I hope to have a break from such brazen insights as I have had for the past two days. I am tired and run down, but I also know that I am slowly regaining perspective on how to live my life with hope and joy. As long as I keep getting to work on time, I might just start to smile again!