Saturday, September 5, 2009

Too much of a good thing

Maybe there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Although if you had asked me one week ago if that was possible I would have firmly asserted that this is impossible. But here I am in the late hours listening to Peanut wail as she struggles once again to sleep. It was a long night last night (read: we were awake for 3+ hours straight during the middle of the night) and here we are again. I think the excitement of having her grandparents here is contributing to some weirdness in the sleep department.

As for me personally, I am struggling to meet the needs of all involved. My father has well and truly lost his hearing and although he has finally admitted that he needs hearing aids, he hasn't yet taken steps to get any. This means that everything must be repeated at least twice for him, and there is a great deal of yelling in our house. At times this is comical, for instance when Peanut asks Grampa for juice and looks at him as though he hung the moon while he in return stares at her blankly. At other times, I just find it all to be a bit exhausting and sad. It is difficult to watch one's parents age. Additionally, it is frustrating to me that although he served both in the military police and the local police department for his entire career (and therefore spent ample time on the gun range to possibly have contributed to his hearing loss) neither the Veteran's Administration or police department is apparently willing to contribute a great deal towards the hearing aids. *sigh*

It's also difficult to continue to balance the needs of my husband when weighed against those of my parents. My folks would love to spend time with all of us (me, Peanut and Gboy) but my husband would like time alone with me now and then as well. I'm torn as I would like to spend as much time as possible (of the little time that I get with them) with my parents. It's a pickle.

In the end, we'll all survive it and have fun doing it, I'm sure. But the late nights and low sleep are once again wreaking a bit of havoc on my fuzzy brain and making it hard for me to think clearly.

Also, why must drunk people staggering home late at night make so much noise? Each time Peanut seems to quiet, they scream or squeal and set her off again. Argh.

5 comments:

  1. Hey! You got Bingo! Congratulations. What did you win? Juggling everyone's needs is exhausting, and having other people (even family) in the house is exhausting too (great but exhausting!) So I can imagine you need all the sleep you can get and being woken up by rowdy drunks isn't fun. Made me giggle though because I remember the first time I got peed off at loud drunk people in the wee hours- I started crying at feeling like I should just line up for a walker now having gone from being the loud drunk to resenting them!

    Fingers crossed for some more restful days and nights for you all.

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  2. I'm sorry you are so tired, and being pulled in many directions. I hope Peanut gets into the new groove, and that you can find a balance before your parents head out again. I do know how tough it is, I went through it too during my parents visit. :P

    Really? You won bingo? Sweeeeet!

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  3. Ahhh, Jill! I wish I could send you a big basket of sleep and your dear Father a hearing aid.

    In the hubby area - Ryu often seems to disappear when my folks are around. He likes them, but, all the English does him in, and he wants his own time. So, I get a bit lonely - as I think I should spend time with my folks.

    I hope the last bit of their visit goes well and you get some great pics and make a few more great memories!!! And little Peanut gets some REAL sleep!

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  4. I've felt pulled between my dad and my husband before. Not that anyone is pulling me in either direction, I just wanted to spend time with both. It's a tough spot to be in.

    I hope you all are getting some sleep.
    *HUGS*
    P.S. Congrats on Blogger bingo!

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  5. We just got through with a 10 day visit from my mom, with my dad joining her for the last 5 days. It is exhausting trying to juggle everything, and I notice that my husband and I snap at each other more, probably because we don't get our time alone.

    Here's hoping things calm down a bit, and that you all get a bit of sleep.

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