Well, its 2:45 am and I’m adding to our blog, its almost sad. I worked at Cardinal yesterday for my usual 12 ½ hour day. I’ll leave for work again this morning at 5am. No, I don’t usually get up this early. Usually it’s more like 4am. I think its another sign of my age (sigh). I remember when I was younger I could sleep and wake on demand. Anytime I had a few minutes or when I knew I would be up late and needed to sleep now to facilitate that, I could tell my body to sleep and I would. Better, I could tell myself to wake up after so many minutes and I would. Now, well its not so good. My work schedule is a little different then most. I work on Monday & Tuesday; then I’m off on Wednesday and Thursday; Then I work Friday Saturday and Sunday. At which point it switches around for my second week so that I’m off on Monday and Tuesday; Work Wednesday and Thursday and then I’m off for the Friday Saturday and Sunday. The only remnants of my younger self is that on those days that I work I am able to wake myself without the alarm clock. Usually, I sleep-in on the days I’m off. The key word here is “Usually”. Last night I decided to go to bed a little earlier than usual. I was tired and figured if I go to bed at 9pm and wake at 4am that would be 7 hours. That’s more than I “Usually” get and still less than the experts and doctors all say we’re “supposed” to get right? (Please insert the “Wrong Answer” buzzer sound here.) I woke up at 2am and was only able to force myself to stay there until 2:30a. At which point I admitted defeat and got myself ready for work. So, here I am, praying this whole thing doesn’t backfire on me and leave me too tired at work. Thankfully, I shouldn’t have to work the whole 12 ½ today.
Cardinal has made some significant upgrades over the last two years. We are now equipped to produce significantly more than we are currently able to sell. Our sales due to the economy and other factors such as weather etc. are only slightly down from last year. There was also some shifting around of some accounts last year among the Cardinal plants that altered our production (all of this is according to what various individuals have explained to me at my workplace, the truth of course may well be different). The short of it has been that they have reduced our hours since last winter. If you tally up my normal hours with that work schedule above, you will notice that with Sunday officially being the first day of the week for Cardinal, I work only 36 hours one week and 48 hours the next. I do get paid time and half for that extra 8 hours, so it more than compensates for the “short” week. Last winter they cut our Saturday hours to only 8, cutting back our overtime hours to only two. So, if my traitorous body should cause me an ”early decline in my capacity for rigorous activity”, it shouldn’t be too disastrous. They tell me our 8 hour Saturday’s may well be coming to an end as orders are increasing. If this “waking early as punishment for responsible sleeping habits” thing keeps up it could make things interesting…
The Oakes Family Gathering is coming up. I had made big plans to catch up on all my chores and even make significant headway into preparing to have Deanna’s family visit. I lost count of all the Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and adopted family members who participate. (I don’t like to dwell on it for fear that if I should realize the actual number; I may go hide in a closet and spend the entire weekend engaged in the less-than-adult activity of sucking my thumb…) So, of course, after having made such lofty plans for my last 2 days off, I promptly came down with a cold and accomplished close to nothing (sigh). Hopefully, I will have enough energy when I get off from work early today to at least mow my lawn. It will have to be mowed again at least once before the “gathering” so its not like I’m gaining any ground there.
Of course, because we can never have too much going on here at the Donaldson household, sometime between now and say the week after the Oakes family gathering Seth Frost is scheduled to come with mini excavator-in-tow to start digging up my driveway and side yard. He will be installing a new frost-free water hydrant; a power post for my mom and dads camper and leveling the area where the camper sits. The idea is to make the camper look like its been placed there permanently while yet still being able to move it whenever we want. We have it placed so that it receives weather protection from the north by my garage while still leaving me room to install a green house between the garage and the camper. (I will probably start that little project later this summer providing the Lord is willing.) Hopefully we will have that project done before my mom and dad arrive early July. They still need to find a “house sitter” for their cat and plants (in Florida) before they can make the trip. We’re still praying.
Well, I think that’s enough for now I think, its almost time to wake up!
To all who read this: Numbers 6:24!
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