Searching for Sleep

Last night, I was determined to be in bed at 10 PM. No matter what, I knew that I needed to restart a saner sleep routine. Sadly, I failed. In fact, I completely obliterated my bedtime. I decided to do "one more thing." Unfortunately, that final task took about two hours to complete. Then, I decided to check in with some friends. That somehow led me to attempting to do even more work.

In the end I faded in an out for hours. At 4:30 AM I actually made it to my bed. While I had fitful sleep sitting on the couch, I did get a solid hour and a half once I made it to my bed. Thankfully, I help it together through my day. My daughter was sick today, which turned out to be a blessing. I was able to move more slowly as I got ready. When I did get to school, I knew I was exhausted, but survived the day. My associate principal allowed me to miss a school wide event. Then, I used the energy of being with my students to carry me through the actual class periods. Even so, I clearly struggled to form thoughts. I am getting better at identifying when my narcolepsy is making my life difficult. I definitely blanked out a couple times as I tried to help my students understand.

Even more unnerving was the trip home. I again knew that I would make it, but I also had clearly reached my limit. Fortunately, I can take roads with little to no traffic. I was not dangerous in any way, but if I had been forced to stop for an extended period, I might have drifted away. Upon getting home, I did get some cleaning done, but I also have been battling my sleepy brain the entire night. I felt that the best thing would be to push myself until 10 PM tonight. Then, I can begin reestablishing my "normal" sleep pattern.

While I do not want this to become a regular occurrence, I am grateful that I am becoming stronger mentally and physically. I also appreciate that I am learning to adjust when things are getting desperate. I firmly believe that I would have simply gone to the school event in previous years, even though it would have drained me to the point of my narcolepsy becoming dangerous.
Thankfully, I am maturing in my outlook. I have nothing to prove to others. I do need to take care of myself so that I can stay safe and protect others as well. This journey never will end. Narcolepsy is funny that way. Still, I am thrilled to have the chance to experience it.