Travels With Friend Robot II

[mrissa]

Friend Robot is confused in these latitudes
Sleeps often, wakes fractious:
Where are we? What's happening?
This is not where you said you'd stop.
I don't know these people
I can't find my friends. The sun
Stays overhead so long, and I can't help.
It is my turn to soothe:
Here is your tether. Though confused,
You are not powerless. I will show you
Rocks and moose. So many trees.
We still have the lake, the compass
Yellow apples, my notebook.
My mother still loves me, my friend
Writes poems without the ringing of your bell.
Sleep softly, Friend Robot, and in the city
I will tell you tales of the animate north.

Comments

[pameladean]

Oh, this is so great. P.

[mrissa]

Thank you, dear.

[rezendi]

❤️

[landingtree]

<3

[cpolk]

the one who who shows a robot rocks and moose is a fine robot friend, indeed.

and gosh, I feel like that robot a lot sometimes.

[mrissa]

I think we all do.

And the moose was only 100 ft away, C! it was so exciting!

[vcmw]

This delights me!

[mrissa]

<3

[oracne]

I like this a lot.

[mrissa]

Thank you!

[thanate]

Poor confused robot! (I need to figure out if I can convince mine that it doesn't need to tell me about every red light camera in Baltimore...)

Enjoy the moose & things.

[mrissa]

I did! I have returned to the city now....

[thanate]

Well then, I'm glad the moose past brought you joy. :)

[abracanabra]

So... You are generally a Magic Morning Person. Do your mornings get even earlier in summer? I ask because I am currently waking up at 6 AM with no real problems, where in winter it is a struggle to wake before 8 or even later, and you seem to manage year-round?

Sincerely,

Fascinated by Weird Human Tricks

[mrissa]

So...the factors that come into play on my sleep cycle are not the same as yours. I am not "managing" to wake up early, I'm trying to stay asleep long enough. I clearly do have circadian rhythm response to some extent--but the reason I wake up every morning for keeps is that I am HUNGRY. When I wake up thirsty or having to pee, I can take care of that and go back to sleep. HUNGRY is the one that wakes me up for keeps, and that's not dependent on the light in the room, that's dependent on whether I managed to eat enough the day before (in which case I can sleep until 6 or even 6:30 maybe) or not (early on in adjusting to a new course of vertigo med it can be as early as 3:30, which is A Real Problem and Cannot Be Tolerated).

"Can't you eat something and go back to bed?" No I cannot. "Can't you have a snack in the evening?" Those are the words of a person who finds it easy to both eat and retain food, so no, I really can't; quite often there is a point somewhere in the 8-8:30 p.m. range when I know for a fact that I have not had enough food and will be lying awake at 4:30 the next day trying to convince my body that a drink of water definitely counts and it should go back to sleep.

So right now we're in the 5-5:30 range, which is not ideal but can be made to work.