It's Saturday!

I finally feel asleep about 01:30 and was up with the baby at 07:00. I do not mind only getting a short amount of sleep as I feel fine when I get up. After many years in the Army I was used to not getting much sleep, especially when in Garrison. I was stationed at Fort Irwin and married but the wait for housing back in the late 80's early 90's was very long. In the meantime I took quarters on the Marine Corps Logistic Base in Barstow, which was a good 40 miles from post (yes, this was the closest town). If PT formation was at 06:15 I had to leave the house by 04:45 to make sure I got to post on time to get over to the barracks and check on my soldiers. Final formation was usually about 17:30 but then the platoon sergeant or 1SG would have a "quick" NCO meeting that lasted until whenever. If I was lucky I would get home about 19:30 or so for dinner. It was a hard 6 years at Irwin but I would not trade them for anything else that I can think of. The people I spent that time with are some of the greatest men I have ever known. When I got out of the Army I got lucky that one of my former fellow soldiers and Company XO had left the Army and settled in the same town I did. It is hard to believe that I have known this guy for almost 16 years. Sometimes it is hard to believe that had I stayed I would be able to retire in less then 3 years from now.

The pain this morning is a good 6 but thanks to the meds it is dropping slowly but surely but the left foot is still totally numb and my left calf is starting to burn. The pain might be because I could not remember if I took the oxy last night and so I took the darvocet and tried to sleep. Normally I would have just dumped the bottle out and counted them but with the baby running around I did not feel it was a good idea. By the time I got him in bed and sleeping it was pretty late (yes, I spoil him by letting him hang out with daddy) and if I took it then it would throw off the whole schedule and I would be taking it at funky hours. I hate doing it that way because then I would have to get up at 03:00 or so to pop pills and then it is tough getting back to sleep. When I was in the hospital I would say that it was the most annoying part of my stay. You finally get to sleep, hard to do in the neuro ward, and they come in to wake you up and ask you how you feel. Arrrgh!

I thought about looking in to one of those Craftmatic Adjustable Beds to see if it might help me out. When I am napping in the recliner or on the end of the couch which also reclines, I seem to be in minimal pain when I wake up compared to sleeping in bed. I have even tried to prop myself up with pillow below my knees but after a while it is not comfortable and the lack of blood to the feet makes them hurt even more. My only concern would be that both side need to be adjustable. While sleeping in a "sitting" position would help me, I don't think my wife would enjoy it very much.

I am not sure exactly what time the oldest will be home as they are going to drive him so it is tough to say when we might head out for the store. I am hoping they are here before 11:00 o we can eat before we head out. My guess is that with only one week left until Christmas the stores are going to be a zoo. Couple that with the mall we are going to is in a town where they have been out for Christmas break since Thursday.