Inertia

Today is shaping up to be a long day. A very very long day.
You see, yesterday, I excitedly purchased myself a copy of Jessica Seinfeld's (why do I want to keep calling her Jessica Simpson??) new cookbook, Deceptively Delicious. I spent the evening making several fruit and veggie purees to hide in my daughters' food. I finished the night later than expected and tired, but went to bed happy. At approximately 04:45 hours, Helen awoke. Consequently, so did I. I tried to ignore her in the hopes she would return to sleep. She didn't. I got up and rocked her. She fell asleep in my arms, and the second I put her in her crib, she awoke. I let her cry a little longer. I brought her downstairs and laid her on me while we watched yesterday's Oprah (thank you, TiVo!). Finally, at about 6:15, realizing she was hopelessly exhausted and so was I, I returned her to her crib. She tricked me. She would cry for about 10 seconds. Stop. Remain quiet for about 2 minutes...just long enough for me to think she was asleep. Then she's start again and cry for about ten seconds. Stop...you get the picture. So, while I returned to bed, I did not return to sleep and I have essentially been up since 4:45. Groan...this is the night I volunteer at the NICU. Therefore, after spending the day with a tired toddler and a generally food preschooler who cannot always be cajoled into a nap, I will pass my husband in the doorway when he comes home, and venture to the hospital. I spent my first hour awake (well, it was really my third hour awake, but my first after failed attempts at more sleep) scheming ways to exhaust my preschooler so she would nap. And trying to figure out just exactly when I should put Helen down for a nap. It's precarious. Too early and she won't sleep when Ruthie does (might). Too late and she will be overtired and will cut her nap short by an hour or more, resulting in an even more tired toddler. I also mulled over the many, many things I have to do, like make more purees, and try baking chocolate spinach brownies. And then I remembered inertia. Good old inertia. Remember it from Science class? An object in motion remains in motion..blah, blah, blah. Today, I am going to test this. I already know that it is often damn near impossible to get off the couch when i am exhausted and have collapsed there momentarily. Or longer. Sop instead, I will not allow myself to stop. i will keep moving today. And a the end of the day, I will have many more things crossed off my to do list. And maybe, just maybe, it will be better than scheming and plotting to sneak in a nap. I don't know how caffeine plays a part in this whole intertia thing, but I'm not against trying it out. And at the very least, when I arrive home from the NICU, I will be so freaking exhausted, that I will collapse into a deep, deep (deep) slumber. And knowing that tomorrow is Benny's day to get up with Helen and the roosters will make it that much sweeter.