A post I wrote back in May:
- Marshall overslept one morning last week. I woke him up, but not in time for him to catch the school bus. I told him that he could take a mental health day if he wanted to. That may sound like a kindness, but really I was just exhausted and didn’t want to drive him to school. I figured that his attendance and grades have been good enough that one day off wouldn’t be an issue. He weighed the pros and cons, then listed all the pros for me, one of which was “And you won’t have to drive me to school.” I always love how he tries to logic his way through situations, but I was thinking to myself, “Kid, me not having to drive you is the only pro!” Meanwhile, unbeknownst to me at the time, my husband was awake, aware of the situation, and thinking, “Please, please, please, don’t come in here and ask me to drive him to school!” It ain’t easy being a parent over 50. We are tired.
- And our brains have apparently shrunk more than we could have guessed. I knew that each pregnancy had taken a toll on my brain. But also, according to an article that my husband shared with me, every caregiver, be they woman or man, loses some brain volume while taking care of young children. That means my husband’s brain took a hit, too. Dang! And those brain changes can affect mental health and sleep quality. Double dang! The article didn’t talk about whether or not the effects were permanent. The data on that may not be available. But I’m guessing the loss of brain volume is permanent, because I’ve never heard of a way (outside of being very young) to increase brain volume. Adult brains lose volume as they age anyway. As to the effects, those are probably long-lasting, too, if not also permanent. Really unfairly, brain shrinking not only can rob you of sleep, but not getting enough sleep is associated with the development of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. It ain’t easy having a brain.
- Chatting with my company’s HR person about my kids, she said, “They must be almost out of school now.” I answered, “Well, they’re both in their teens, but my daughter is only in 7th grade, so she still has five more years to go.” To which she replied, “Oh, I just meant for summer. It’s almost summertime.” And I had to laugh, because I should have known that’s what she meant, but I am always looking yearningly into the distant future when the kids will finally be done with school and I won’t have to get up so early in the morning! It ain’t easy being a Night Owl in a Morning Person’s world.