Early Adjustments

March’s weather has been bi-polar with huge differences in temperatures. Last week the temperatures reached up to 70 and all our snow melted. The next day we had several inches of new snow. Up and down. Up and down. Yesterday we woke up to a couple of inches of snow. Today the temperatures are in the upper 40s and the snow is melting. Tonight it’s supposed to get cold again with rain and snow.

I didn’t take Hannah Joy for many walks over the winter because either it was too cold or too icy. However, once we started getting warmer weather, she began demanding we resume our walks. She gripes at me until I take her out and then she starts walking toward the driveway. If I try to reel her back in, she digs in her feet and refuses to budge. If the driveway is clear of ice and snow, I let her have her way most of the time. Early this afternoon I took her for a walk and I saw a robin! Robins fly south for the winter and in Michigan their return is an early indication that Spring is on the way! Yay!

Today is our son’s birthday. Next week is EJ’s birthday. We celebrated both last weekend. JJ plans to go back to working on the Great Lakes bulk carrier and he isn’t sure exactly when he will get called up for his stint. He was off work just about the whole shipping season last year because he broke his foot when he slipped on deck and needed surgery. Thankfully, he has good insurance so he did ok.

The last couple of weeks has been a bit tough because EJ’s back pain has intensified. He injured his back years ago–before we met–and has suffered chronic back pain ever since. It appears that now arthritis is settling in his back, which sometimes gives him bouts of intense pain. He ended up coming home from work early several times because of his back pain and also because his blood pressure shot up. I suspect his blood pressure went high because of the back pain. He went to the doctor a week ago, but his blood pressure was ok when they checked it so the doctor did not change his medication other than telling him he could take two pills if necessary.

Today EJ started to work first shift because his company is eliminating second shift. (The doctor said working first shift might actually help EJ because working nights is hard on a person’s body.) Today was EJ’s first day on the new shift. There are advantages and disadvantages to each shift. It just requires reordering our schedules a bit.

At this company EJ works ten hours and gets three days off. On second shift, he worked on Monday through Thursday and got Friday through Sunday off. Now he will work Friday through Monday and get Tuesday through Thursday off. This means our “weekend” will be in the middle of the week. I think it will be difficult to remember which day it is for a while. But other than that, I kind of like his daytime shift because I can get most of my tasks done before he gets home from work. When he’s home during the day, I like to spend time with him.

Our meal times have changed. Before, we had our big meal at noon before EJ went to work. Now, our big meal would be in the evening except EJ said he’d prefer a really big breakfast and a light lunch and supper. I don’t want a big breakfast so I’ll still make my big meal at lunch. If EJ chooses–and depending on what sort of food I make myself for lunch–he can have leftovers at supper or incorporate them into his breakfast the next morning. Otherwise, he says he prefers oatmeal or something for supper. That works for me. By evening I’m usually tired and just want to relax.

Bedtime is the real trial. EJ now will go to bed earlier so he can get up at 4 a.m. He makes his own breakfast whenever he’s on first shift so that I (hopefully) can continue sleeping. The last time EJ worked this shift, he got into the habit of putting a little bit of egg in Hannah Joy’s food dish. Hannah didn’t forget this. As soon as her super-sensitive ears heard EJ cracking an egg in the kitchen this morning, she leaped out of bed and frantically scratched at the bedroom door. I didn’t sleep well last night and knew I wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep after I let Hannah out of the bedroom so I just got up and spent time with EJ. After he left for work, I went back to bed hoping for more sleep. I left the bedroom door but Timmy the cat kept coming into the bedroom meowing loudly and I heard Clara the Impossible Kitten racing around playing. Hannah tends to bark shrilly at the cats if she hears them which is why we shut the cats out of the bedroom at night and turn on the fan to block out their noises.

I’m a very light sleeper so getting enough sleep has always a problem for me. It’s going to be worse on first shift. I’d happily synchronize my schedule to EJ’s except that I can’t go to bed until sunset when the chickens decide to go into their coop for the night. I can’t force the chickens in earlier because they refuse to be rushed. I’ve tried in the past, and I’ve spent a lot of time chasing them around the coop until I’m able to get them inside. In winter months when the days are shorter they go in sooner so I can go to bed when EJ does, but in the summer it stays light outside until 10 pm. so I have to stay up.