I’ve talked a little bit on social media about how, as Stephen gears up for his next deployment, his work schedule has been extremely demanding. The poor kid has been working 12+ hour days regularly and sleeping on the boat (which means about a half night’s sleep for him or less) twice a week.

This has been hard on everyone. Not having help at home for 36 hours at a time is no joke. Furthermore, I always struggle to sleep the nights he’s gone. As much as I *know* the chances of an axe murderer coming in the middle of the night are low, my body still decides to be on high alert just in case.

All that to say, we’re tired. Very very tired. The problem with being tired—apart from the obvious feeling-super-crappy part—is that it also infringes on other important skills such as decision-making and emotion management.

The more tired I am, the more likely I am to lose my temper when Monica gets difficult. The more tired I am, the more likely I am to skip water and chug coffee instead. The more tired I am, the more likely I am to have leftover cupcakes for breakfast instead of something with protein that will hold me over. The more tired I am, the more likely I am to get extremely overwhelmed when looking around at the household chores I still haven’t done. (Hello load of laundry that has been sitting in the dryer for almost a week).

Basically, everything becomes more difficult and I get frustrated at my inability to make good decisions and be um, you know, emotionally stable which then upsets me further. Fun fun fun.

I think most people have seasons like this. Maybe it’s because of young kids, or maybe because of work or even school or a battle with insomnia and the truth is it’s super hard.

I know this season won’t necessarily be over for me soon. Stephen is leaving shortly and I know there will be periods of time without help that I will have to get through.

So how to survive? How to make the most of these fatigued few months? How to try to enjoy life despite being surrounded by a fog of tiredness?

1. Give yourself grace. If, due to sleep deprivation, you overindulge in sweets, take a wrong turn, or forget an errand you were supposed to run—recognize you’re not operating at 100% capacity. It’s easy to be tempted to beat yourself up but this is not helpful and will only make you feel worse. You can’t expect lack of sleep to not affect you because SURPRISE you’re not a robot. Acknowledge this so that you don’t fall into a vicious cycle of self-deprecation and despair.
2. Keep some things simple. For me right now, it’s meals. I’m heavily depending on frozen meals from Trader Joe’s to hold me over. If I do cook it’s something easy like tacos or chicken and pasta. I’m not trying advanced recipes or making homemade bread anytime soon, that’s ok. Maybe you wear the same three outfits over and over for now or skip the deep cleaning you typically do, but recognize now is not the time to do it all. Think about what you’re willing to sacrifice temporarily and don’t feel bad about it.
3. Find things that bring you energy and invest in them. This may seem counterintuitive, but some work actually gives us more energy instead of depleting us. For me, that means reorganizing a closet, going antiquing, writing, or taking pictures. Even though they’re not necessarily relaxing, they actually help me feel more human again and less like a zombie.
4. Laugh it off. When you feel yourself falling into overwhelm or your emotions getting high, try to find humor in the situation. Ok, your toddler knocked over the pile of clothes you just folded whilst trying to scoot closer to you because heaven forbid there be two feet of separation between you—it’s a little funny. Or you spilled coffee on your brand-new jeans. Or you took three wrong turns on the way to the park. Channel your inner Lorelai Gilmore, make a quip about it, and move on.
5. Remember it’s not forever. While you are living in this heavy haze of sleepiness, you have to remind yourself that this won’t last forever. These seasons are part of life and they deserve to be lived as well as they can be.

I hope this helps you. Hopefully, I can take my own advice as I get through these crazy, tired days. And if you have other ideas/tips PLEASE share. Help a sister out.

In camaraderie,

Miranda Kate