I did not sleep well last night. Despite being extremely tired when I went to bed at 8:30, I was wide awake the moment my head hit the pillow. It didn’t help that Rita Mae was crying and panting, behavior she exhibits during thunderstorms. It was not raining or thundering at all last night, and I was not hearing or sensing whatever she was. Regardless, she was inconsolable. So I threw in the towel and headed to the living room couch with the dogs so my husband, already asleep, would not be woken or disturbed. (Although Harvey was fine, had we left him behind in the room, he would have cried to join us once he realized we weren’t coming right back.) Once we were on the couch, Rita was fine. Whatever she was reacting to in the room was either over or not detectable from the living room. I spent the next 3.5 hours watching Futurama until, around midnight, I finally nodded off. I woke up again just long enough to grab one dog under each arm and slip back into bed.

I woke up this morning far from well rested. I had the internal argument through my whole shower, dress, and coffee routine as to whether I should call in and take a mental health day. But I have an intense sense of responsibility and obligation when it comes to work, so calling into work – for me – is a very difficult thing to do. Plus, I already have two days off this week (Wednesday the 4th is a state holiday and Friday the 6th is my Pass Day) AND it’s a Monday, both facts which might compound the inappropriateness of taking today off.

So, I’m sitting in the parking garage, waiting for my building to open (at 6:50am – I start work at 7:00am) just hoping I can get through the day semi-focused, without incident. Although, being unfocused has never hurt any of my co-workers careers 🙂