The word of the day is SLEEP

Magically, I got up only a few minutes before my alarm this morning. I mean it probably had something to do with the fact that I was up until 3 AM but, you know, whatever. I didn't get a ton of work done but I did get to have lunch with my dear friend Heidi. For about the last two and a half years, I've been spending Wednesday mornings with her and her littlest. At the beginning, I was holding a sleeping baby so she could get some work done. Now, we eat, talk, make tea and generally talk about what is going on in our lives and hearts while Little Man runs around and plays. So while my house didn't get cleaned, my heart got so much refreshment. 

We are just about halfway through this whole extended hours thing for finals. Which means between tomorrow and the beginning of next week, no one will be getting much sleep. Actually, a lot of my students haven't been getting much sleep all week. I try not to come off too much like a mom because hey, I remember those days. I do.  I remember making coffee at 10 pm after the family had long gone to bed and I was tired of looking at the cursor blink on my screen at the top of an empty page. I was (and still am) a salty snack girl and would eat my weight in salsa and chips. I even remember lying to my mom about how much sleep I got. (Mom, I'm really really sorry. Those papers had to come before my mental and physical health.) "Wow," she would say at 6am, "you got up really early today. What time is class?" Oh um, well...Yeah I didn't shower last night because of the paper and so...I'm showering before class...oh hey I have to go now...."

Ahem. 

But anyway, I try to gently remind them that sleep is important. I sometimes even need to remind them to eat and drink water. But then I ask them about what they have going on tomorrow, the presentations and papers that might be due. And they share the things that are going on in their life. I get phone calls with emergency questions and last minute study room reservations. I try to send them off with another gentle reminder about the sleep thing and encouragement for the all the things that they have to do for the next day. 

You know I love it. I really do. But sometimes, it is exhausting. The days run together and my fridge somehow gets empty without me realizing it. I haven't done laundry since last week and the almost empty laundry basket in my room is now overflowing with stuff I have to put away or wash. And I think I was just so exhausted and stressed and ...

And I walked out of the office tonight, took off my heels and threw them in the garbage can. 

Suddenly, things didn't seem too terrible. Because, after all, life is too short for shoes that hurt your feet.