The Long Night

Tonight is the great changing of the clocks. As the clocks move back we should all get an extra hour of sleep tonight. Well, all but one. My sleep patterns are crazy. I could blame the prednisone. Maybe that’s the culprit. Anyway, I sleep soundly for about four hours and then fitfully for the rest of the night. That’s if I go to bed at a reasonable hour. If I stay awake until 2 AM or so then I might sleep until a normal awakening time. I’m now trying to calculate the hour at which I should go to bed so that I won’t be awake at 2 or 3 in the morning. I refuse to get up, read, or do anything other than toss and turn which makes the whole thing worse. I’ve not had a nap, so far, today. Perhaps that will be the remedy. Perhaps not. I’m anticipating a long night.

¶ Today and yesterday have been beautiful. The high today was 66º which is phenomenal for South Dakota on November 6. The bulbs have arrived and are in the process of being planted. The newest part of the landscaping is again a work in progress. Come spring it will be lovely. ¶ Our governor wants to be fair, so she says. Therefore, she refuses to share the file concerning her daughter’s path to becoming a licensed real estate appraiser. Lest you forget, the daughter was refused a license. Then a meeting was called with the higher-ups in the department at the governor’s mansion, not her office. Her daughter was present. That is interesting since ostensibly she would have no reason to be present at the discussion of the content as it was reported. Following said meeting her daughter was issued a license and the person in charge of issuing same (for 30 years) was fired. She filed a wrongful termination suit and was paid $200,000 in settlement. Part of the settlement said she was not to testify disparagingly about anyone involved. Release of the file would allow the legislative panel investigating “possible” nepotism in the case to reach a conclusion. So once again the people of South Dakota are left in the dark, with unanswered questions. However the governor is being fair. ¶ The week has been a bit busy with Zoom meetings, our usual Benedictine Tuesday evening, and a trip to Yankton to participate in the institution of the new rector of Christ Church. Again it was a lovely day and a nice drive with good company. Getting out of town seems to be a real event after months of just staying home.

¶ I’ve felt really well this week. I think having an extra week off before last week’s chemo helped with the tiredness. After looking back at one of the doctor’s reports, he suggested that an extra week now and then would be helpful. ¶ Sophia has outgrown the length of her “tree top” perch. Unless she curls up she hangs over the end. It doesn’t appear to me to be comfortable, but I’m not her! ¶ Thanks for reading. Thanks for everything. Thanks for helping others.