Sleep is a wonderful thing.

I have spent many astonishing hours covered by that dark and mysterious blanket, where dreams approach and the real world is far, far away.

Lately, my sleep patterns have been erratic. It’s funny how your need for sleep changes during your life. Back in the day, when I was an up-and-coming manager in the graphics field, I needed very little. We would finish work at 10 pm, then eat pizza and watch Law and Order, and Homicide. I would sleep four-or-so hours and head back to the office around 7 am.

Back then, all-nighters were par for the course. I could go without sleep for 36 hours, sitting at my computer and completing mammoth projects. Of course, whenever I closed my eyes for more than a second I instantly started to dream. By the end of the sleepless stretch I was drained.

Skip ahead. When I started working as a reporter I found I needed seven or eight hours a night just to stay sane. I wasn’t a fan of being a practicing journalist. You have to do a lot of slimy things and I think that sleep was a brief escape from a job I didn’t really enjoy.

Skip ahead again: The present. Again, a manager, and to usurp the title of a bad movie, I’m “Sleepless in Shenzhen.” Interviewing prospective teachers in other time zones explains part of this. I rise after only four to five hours of sack time. I need more, desperately, but manage to catch up on weekends.

It’s an evil cycle. I wake up at two or three, do school work, blog, write email, etc. until it’s time for work. I do my day, and after getting home it is a giant struggle to stay awake. When I fall asleep I wake up after four hours and do it again. My attempts to change this pattern have so far failed. The longest stretch I have slept in the last seven months is six-and-a-half hours.

Sleeping with someone else is a challenge. I was a celibate hermit for many a year. Adjusting to a hot someone, figuratively and literally, in your bed is a chore. I’m not complaining, but when it’s more than 40 degrees outside, a hot body beside you can be an impediment to a good night’s rest. (also an impediment in other ways, but I’ll leave that alone)

I’m not complaining. You can get a lot accomplished when you’re awake 20 hours a day. I’m certain the surrounding apartments are less-than-pleased listening to my washing machine at 5:00 am. I’m amazed my wife can sleep thru the noise of me attempting to defeat the sentient monster that has formed in the kitchen sink from dirty plates and chopsticks.

Maybe this will change, maybe it won’t. For now, I’ll enjoy the early morning quiet time. When baby arrives (if ever) I’m sure my quiet time with be at a premium.