Rant #1,244: Getting Older

At 57 years old, I have been around the block a few times, but lately, I am noticing changes in my own personal makeup that have put me to sleep.

Literally.

I don't think that this is anything out of the normal path for me--since I base this on how my parents have reacted over the years--but I seem to get tired more easily now than I did when I was younger.

I used to laugh at my parents for basically bedding down some nights at 7 p.m., but I am starting to feel the need to rest like this too.

Honestly, I started to notice a difference about two or three years ago.

On lazy weekend days, I would be watching TV, and suddenly, I was asleep for a half hour or 45 minutes or an hour or so.

I never napped before. In fact, my mother says that I was not the greatest napper even as a baby, and if I napped, it was probably in the baby carriage outside of the house. I seemed to like the fresh air.

I was the guy who literally could stay up all night--and often did--with little or no sleep.

Years ago, when I supplemented my income as an adult newspaper deliverer, there were days that I actually did not sleep at all, from one day to another, as I delivered newspapers.

And I can tell you, I didn't really feel it.

Of course, I was in my late 30s then, now I am in my late 50s, and I could never do that anymore.

During the week, I am pooped from work, and I have to tell you, to make 10 p.m. is often a chore.

When I watch wrestling with my son, I am guaranteed to fall asleep, even if it is for only a few minutes.

Usually, on Fridays, I do stay up late. For some reason, the weekend gets me going again, and if I am occupied, either with a TV show or perhaps doing something on the computer, I can stay up to about 1 a.m., so I am literally up on Friday from 4 a.m. to 1 a.m. the next day, a good 21-hour day.

Sometimes I feel the effects of doing that on Saturday, sometimes not.

I find that if I am occupied and doing something that I like to do, I don't really feel tired doing that.

But usually, come Saturday night, I rarely do back to backs of that.

On Saturday night, I am basically in bed by 11 p.m. at the latest.

And come Sunday night, preparing for the long work week, I am asleep by 10 p.m. at the latest.

And during the workweek, I have absolutely no trouble getting up by 4 a.m. Monday through Friday. I might deviate by a few minutes either before or after that time, but generally, I am up and about way before the sun comes out.

I know I take after my mother in this regard. She is an early riser, as was her mother, my maternal grandmother.

My father also gets up early when he goes to work, but he is a person who literally can sleep all day, as was his father, my paternal grandfather.

So I think that this sleep thing is simply a natural progression for me, from being a kid with a lot of energy, able to stay up to all hours, to an adult who has put in his time after all these years and needs his sleep.

My wife is basically the same way. She was also an all-night person, but now, if she makes 10 p.m., it is more of an aberration than anything else.

So right now, as I type this entry at 4:37 a.m., I am tired, but I did have a good night's sleep.

By the end of today, I will be pooped, I will go to sleep by 10 p.m., and the whole cycle will start up again.

Yes, I do feel like a hamster in a cage running but getting nowhere, but that is where I stand right now on sleep.

And I hope this Rant hasn't been that big a snore, because I bet many of you have noticed the same changes I have as you have gotten older.

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