How is it almost the end of August? I usually write my celebratory blog birthday post much closer to my August 1st birthdate. However, this year, memorializing Dodger felt more important to me, so I prioritized that in my last post.

Rest in peace, Dodger Dog (2009-2024)

At the time, I didn’t expect so much time to pass before I posted again. Not much is going as expected right now. You may recall that I had three hopes for this year: a bed, a home, and a Heath.

Do I now have a home? Check. We moved into a wonderful rental home on July 1st in Lafayette, CO.

Do I have a Heath? Also, check. We’ve been married for 8.5 years now, but you never know what stupid stuff the universe will throw at you. So I didn’t want to take my Heath for granted. Also, in a fun twist, starting tomorrow, we will both work for the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Do I have a bed? Oh, how I wish I could check this one off my list. Today, FedEx delivered the fourth bed I’ve purchased since July 1st. So, while technically I do have a bed, who knows if I can get a good night’s sleep?

It’s been nearly eight weeks without decent sleep, and the effects on me feel catastrophic. It’s not ideal for starting a new job. Especially one that requires so many skills and higher productivity levels than I’ve had to put forth in years. I expect I will spend this entire week masking my true exhaustion, which certainly isn’t going to help the situation. I just hope I don’t start crying at work because every moment of every day, it feels like I’m walking along the precipice of a breakdown.

Few things can help me at this point. What I really need is sleep. In its absence, I stick with my daily meditation and exercise routine because if those fell by the wayside, it would be a quick descent from catastrophe to nuclear meltdown. I also walk around Waneka Lake as often as possible. I know there’s hope for me because I can still find joy in little things during my walks.

Since the above paragraphs are all the mental bandwidth I have to spare at the moment, here are photos of some of the little things on a recent Waneka Lake walk. I hope you enjoy them. And send me some positive sleep vibes, please. I need all the help I can get.