Maybe it's wimpy of me, but I always feel a little fragile when we spring ahead and lose that hour of sleep. I somehow feel I have to take better care of myself--long naps, early to bed, sleep a little later (I allowed myself 15 extra minutes of dozing this morning and liked it so much I'll probably do it tomorrow). This feeling has been heightened by the news that the rate of heart attacks goes up fairly dramatically after the spring loss of an hour's sleep because Americans are already chronically sleep-deprived. I truly don't think that applies to me--I get 7-1/2 - 8 hours a night plus a good nap almost every day. I'm getting downright prickly about protecting my nap time. Jordan wants to bring Jacob at 4 p.m. Saturday to spend the night. I reminded her that I'm giving a brunch that morning and then her b'day dinner the next night for a cast of 16 and said emphatically that I needed my nap and I'd call her when I woke up. She gave a tentative okay, but reminded me once again she had girls coming at 5 p.m. for a party. I will wake up when I wake up!
The benefit of the time change of course is that extra hour of daylight. Yesterday and today the temperature has been in the eighties--though 44 is the predicted high by Thursday. Still I sat on the porch tonight and watched the world go by. My neighborhood is an old one, with trees that arch over the street, and they now have that light green of early spring. It's also a neighborhood where people get out and walk their dogs, or their kids, or just themselves, and runners go by. The street that dead-ends into my house is only two blocks long, with no houses facing it, and yet I am amazed at the amount of traffic. So I sat for a long time tonight and watched the neighborhood go by. It's also the kind of wonderful neighborhood with a strong e-mail system, so if anybody sees a loose dog or a suspicious character, the word is on the Berkeley Buzz in no time. A comforting place ot live.
Today the news and grim predictions about the global economy make me feel fragile too. I've been blessedly insulated from the economic troubles--I have my house and car paid for, a job, a retirement income. But as I watch the news I can't help but wonder when the tentacles of this disaster will begin to reach toward me. So I vow to save more, spend less--and feed 16 people on Sunday? Give me a break! But I think once you feel the caution, you automatically cut back. I know I feel it in my office budget and am issuing all kinds of orders for cutting back as much as we can. We will face an 8% across the board budget cut in June, plus no new positions, which means I can't get Melinda to full time.
The good news? I rode 4.64 miles in 24 minutes tonight with the second degree of resistance. Some days I can get my heart rate up to 95--the other day I hit 105--which is good for me since I take beta blockers. Between the bicycle and the yoga, I'm feeling like one fit grandmother--okay, notice I didn't say trim, just fit.
Tonight with my usual bent toward early preparation, I have coffee cups and other serving pieces out for the Wed. night gathering. All I really have to do is bake the cake, and I hope to do that tomorrow night, if Jacob will comply and watch a DVD. And I even rummaged around in my closest and found I have enough paper plates and napkins for Jordan's dinner, so that comes off my list. Having done all that, I'm going to read a book the reset of the evening.
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