I consider myself a pretty easy going person. I make it a point not to sweat the small stuff. However, the one thing that annoys me more than anything is when people without kids complain about being tired.
The other day someone whined, “I’m tired. I only got five hours of sleep last night.”
I couldn’t help but rolled my eyes. I do understand that this may be coming off a little bit abrasive, but I have absolutely no sympathy for people whose only responsibility is to wake up in the morning get themselves dressed and ready for the day. In other words, they don’t have a pet, an elderly parent(s) or another relative to care for, and no small children. Basically, they’re only responsibility is to take care of themselves.
My eyes are dimming as I write this post, so forgive me if I’m sounding a little bit emotional. But the point that I’m trying to make is that sleep is like a hot commodity in our household. I would kill to get five hours of shut eye a night. Most nights I’m probably averaging around 2 to 3 hours tops. Most most days I walk into work like a zombie. I pray that the Lord give me strength to make it through each newscast without falling asleep.
Take last night for instance. I got home from work late, I showered, pumped, chatted with my hubby for a little while, and then we went off to bed. Within about an hour I wake up to the deep belly cries of our one-year-old son. Like every other night, I nursed him until he went back to sleep, which usually takes about a couple hours. However, this time he decided to throw me a curveball. All Baby O wanted to do was play. Then his big sister woke up and asked for a sip of cold water. Luckily, she went right back to sleep, but her baby brother had other plans. He sang and wanted to dance the night away.
Needless to say, I didn’t get back to bed until about 5:30 – two hours before the alarm went off.
I woke up at 7:30 AM to get the kids ready for school. If you’re a parent, then you’ll understand that things aren’t always smooth sailing when it comes to getting kids dressed and out the door. This day was no different.
Princess sobbed about not being able to say goodbye to daddy before he left for work (even though he kisses her every morning in her sleep). Baby O woke up cranky, and didn’t want to get dressed. You’d think I’d be rushing them out the door to enjoy some peace and quiet. But as odd as it may sound, I wanted to make sure that we at least had a little fun before heading off to school.
I’m writing this post hoping that the next time a non-parent/caretaker says the words “I’m tired,” think of parents like me who basically get very little sleep every night. So unless you’re up all night taking care of a small child or a relative, please think about what you’re saying. I’ll even give you a pass if your dead tired from studying during the pre-dawn hours for the MCAT’s, LSAT’s or some other big exam. But if you’re out all night drinking, you can cry me a river. I still won’t feel sorry for you.
Instead of staying out late with your friends or boo – “droppin’ it like it’s hot” in the clubs, maybe you should just go to bed early. Then maybe you won’t be so tired.