Drowsy Day

I woke up feeling extremely tired despite getting over 8 hours of sleep last night. My arms felt so heavy and I would become exhausted everytime I lifted them. The aching in my shoulders felt like I was carrying around cinder blocks. Nevertheless I drove myself to work and got the kids to school. A couple of times my daughter had to yell my name to keep me from falling asleep and multiple times I simply dropped my right arm into my lap because it simply felt too heavy to hold up even while clinging to the steering wheel.

Once I got to work my heart rate started increasing and I was becoming short of breath. Just walking from the parking lot to the office had me panting. I really thought that I needed to go back to sleep---only I was not necessarily "sleepy tired." It was more of an "internal exhaustion." I think it was my body desperately trying to get my attention.

I ended up leaving work a little after 8:30 and drove straight to the nearest gas station where I purchased a 32 oz. Gatorade with the hopes of rehydrating myself. I then drove to my parents' empty house and curled up on their couch. I felt a little bit giddy at the whole "playing hookey" notion of it all...especially when Days of Our Lives came on...a soap opera I used to watch religiously as a child but have not seen since mid high school. It is unbelievable how addicting those shows can be...I found myself invested in characters I didn't even know the names of within the first four minutes. I got a good 2 hour nap in and started feeling a little more recharged, but my arms are still bothering me.

Here's the thing: I don't think I'll EVER recover from not getting enough sleep...EVER! I have a hard time recalling certain events from when the kids were little, but I will NEVER forget the sleep deprivation part of it all...NEVER. I am one of those people who requires a LOT of UNINTERRUPTED sleep and I think it all just finally came crashing down on me this past weekend.