STRANGER ON THE SHORE

Right. I’m working it out. I’ve been missing an hour or so of sleep for… well, a while now; could be a couple of years. But you’re definitely supposed to get 8 and I’ve been having maybe 6? 7 at a push, so that’s a defecit of *taps calculator* 720 hours. Seems like a lot.

When I was a kid, my Mum said I could just catch up on sleep. In fact, that was what the weekend was for - plugging the deficit. So that means (and I want to make sure I’ve got this right)… I should be going to sleep immediately, for *calculator again*… 30 days.

I don’t know why, but that sounds about right - a month of sleep, snoozing away like a fairy-tale giant. Tonight I very much feel like I could give that a go.

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I can’t give that a go, apparently. Too much to do around the house. And I can’t honestly tell you how many days of work I could miss without someone wondering where I am but I bet it’s fewer than 30. Actually, thinking about it I think it’s fewer than 2, but that is how it should be. And I can’t book snoring leave.

The best way to plug the deficit then is probably the building society way - small pieces at a time. An early night here, a lazy morning there. Perhaps an exerting walk on a Saturday afternoon to tucker me out. Maybe I should also find ways to think about more peaceful things that aren’t going to stress me out - like a quiet glade, a Scottish village, or just Acker Bilk playing Stranger on The Shore.

A pile of clean clothes ready for the drawer has just materialised in front of me. No snoozing just yet then sunshine. No snoozing just yet.