New Normal

I blink myself awake, always without the aid of an alarm, by 6. I roll from bed with a whimper or moan (I like to mix it up) and go to brush my teeth.

I stumble downstairs to consume coffee, watching the news and reading the most urgent of the emails that have arrived from Asia or Europe overnight. I pet Chienne when she descends the stairs, glancing at the clock before slipping on sneakers and grabbing her leash to take our morning walk.

I drive to work, humming hymns from church if it's early in the week or quietly cursing people in my way as I move toward Friday. I arrive, park and make my way to my office. And I begin to work, slipping on my headset to take phone calls, responding to the buzz of the phone in my pocket, answering emails, filling out forms, talking to people and making presentations.

About 12 hours later, I place my laptop back in my bag and make my way back to my car. I come home and eat dinner. I make a futile effort to catch up on email and requests. Then, exhausted, I fall into bed.

My stomach cramps around 1AM, a mixture of stress and late meals and nightmares. I'm awake, curling closer to my dog or cuddling into pillows, before sleep takes me again.