There have been times in my life when I thought I was really tired, from pulling all-nighters in school or working on houses, but I have to say I had no idea how tired you could get until I started working as a doula. The combination of physical and mental draining is intense.
I had a long, tough birth today, starting from about 10pm last night and getting home around 6pm today. I think I maybe got 45 minutes of catnapping in during that 20 hour day, so I was pretty wrecked. As I usually do, I crawled into a bath and drank some bourbon while I let my head unwind. Ever get so tired you can't go to sleep, you know you're hungry but you're too far gone to figure out the problem of food, etc? Then you start trying to beep the lock on the house open with your car keys, and almost cry when it doesn't work? Yeah.
The last few hours since I got home have been a daze. I'm thinking about crawling into bath #2 and starting over. I get to go back and visit the mama and her baby girl in a couple of days, so maybe I'll get some cute pictures then.
I have SO been that tired! But I guess I worked at a non-profit that was serving like 120 pregnant refugee women at the time. So, I feel ya. It is way touugh.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that sounds a lot like my kind of tired! I think any job where you had an intense emotional reaction along with whatever else you have to do can do this to you.
DeleteAkshully, the booze can be counter-productive. Warm milk works better with longer-lasting effects. And by all means, another warm bath. You did some of the most important work in the world. Of course you are tired.
ReplyDeleteIt was living with a midwife (my ex was one) that made me appreciate my predictable 8-5 working days at the time. I am a big wimp when it comes to sleep deprivation, so I am in awe of people who experience it on a regular basis and still manage to function!
ReplyDeleteAs far as the booze vs. warm milk debate goes, I say combine the two - warm milk with a glug of something alcoholic sounds about perfect to me!
I like the way you think, but we were out of milk!
DeleteKudos to you on a job well done! I can't even begin to imagine the bone-numbing tiredness. I'm with Miriam - sleep deprivation is not for me - and yeah, I'd be having a wee dram of Bailey's (or four...) after a night like yours.
ReplyDeleteMy husband works nights, with the added bonus of jet-lag thrown in for extra fun. His favorite question is, "what day are we?", followed closely by, "what month is it?", so I know all too well the mass-confusion that reigns when sleep is disrupted.
Good luck with the plumbing dilemma. Just remember tiredness and power tools don't mix.