Do You Ever Get Off the Computer?

The husband asked me this question the other day and I had to really think about it.

I travel. I go many places without access to email or blogs. Unless it's a business trip, I rarely take my laptop. I enjoy downtime as much as anyone.

But ...

Most clients and friends are on to my dirty little secret. I check email compulsively. I read the comments on my blogs and then I check other blogs. If I can't sleep, I get on the computer. If I have a writing thought, I like to go with it.

The parade of people in and out of this house know where to find me. Anyone looking for me comes in the kitchen door, hangs a right and pops their head in my office.

I guess the answer to the husband's question is "No." Even if I'm not sitting in front of the computer, I'm mentally still there.

In Search of ...

Once again, I am in awe of the oldies. When she has a mission, she dresses him up. props him in the car and heads off. They have lived in this city for a little less than two years, (20 months and 19 days,) but she is like a heat-seeking missile. She will find it. I've lived here my entire life and she's constantly sharing some discovery that I have never heard of. It can be the perfect summer outfit or the freshest fruit -- it's out there and she will bring it home.

I'm in search of a few things:
1. Jeans that are age-appropriate, flattering and don't cost $150.
2. Reading glasses and sun glass readers that don't make me look like a dork.
3. The perfect skin cream.
4. New clients that will treat my business with the same respect as I will treat theirs.
5. An organizational system that's easy and actually works.
6. Plastic surgery results without surgery.
7. The magic pill that keeps the dog's spirit but makes her well behaved.
8. A full night's sleep.

The oldies may not leave the house very often but when they do, she usually accomplishes her goal. Maybe I'll give her my list and see what happens.

Thumps in the Night

The oldies have bizarre sleep patterns. Well, she does. He could sleep through a tsunami.

I used to sleep like a baby. These days, I am awakened regularly by sounds. She's doing laundry at 3:00 am. She's going outside to have a cigarette. She's fixing him a snack. So, I lie in bed wondering if she's going to fall, if she remembered to lock the door when she came back in, if she's using the stove, etc. Exhaustive and not condusive to a good night's sleep.

Last year, I was in Florida with some friend and my husband was sound asleep in our bed. She fell in the laundry room, split her head open and crawled into our bedroom to get help. He describes it as waking up to a horror movie. She was covered in blood, head to toe. Even going through that experience doesn't stop her.

I'm thinking of instituting a bedroom curfew. Yeah, that's going to happen!