I am not a mom, but I am not sure I could deal with the uncertainty of when my child would be home/where he or she was. On he oher hand, it sounds like i is a great thing to get into. When I was in school, a few of our students were junior firefighters (we didn't have a search and rescue, so they got called for a lot more than fires) and they really seemed o shine given the responsibility.

I need to figure out how not to wake up at 3 am every morning. It seems to be when the advil wears off and my hip kills me. Then the cat wants to eat and I am wide awake for a couple of hours. Which is fine on the weekend, but I really need o be up and getting ready by 6:00 or 6:30 at the very latest. And I tend to fall asleep at 5:00 (which is when the advil kicks back in-- should it take 2 hours?)

That sounds about right by me, Sophia. Could you try taking a long-acting formulated NSAID at bedtime as a preventative measure? It's probably a good idea to ask a medical professional.

I have a pill called Sonata that is a short-acting sleep aid, as in less than 4 hours, so if I wake before 2 AM (or know I can sleep late/don't mind being groggy in the morning) I can take it and not feel like death warmed over the next day.

I am sure I should seek medical help, but mostly I get "You need to lose weight and then your hip won't hurt". But I have been asleep, and am now awake, and I am probably only going to be a half hour late for work.

I am trying very hard not to call in, as I called in 2 weeks ago, and since I have no boss, I have to tell the dean and her assistant.

I think Aleve is the one that's supposed to last longer -- you could at least start with that.

Damn, it's been 20 years since I was in the USSR. 20 years since, still jetlagged, I woke up at some ungodly hour and turned on the radio to hear there was the start of a coup. And 4 months later, the first foreign country I visited ceased to exist in that form. Wild.

(Still pissy that border control didn't stamp my passport with the USSR entry stamp!)

Yeah, I should start with the Aleve. It doesn't hurt so much when I am not trying to sleep, so on the weekends I just get up and do stuff. And the go back to sleep and wake up around 9. That is what makes Mondays so bad, I think.

I am sure I should seek medical help, but mostly I get "You need to lose weight and then your hip won't hurt".

RAGE.

"You need to lose weight and then your hip won't hurt"

This is when you have the "With all due respect, Doctor: bullshit" conversation. Which starts, "Let me be clear, I'm not asking for painkillers." Where you point out that you are indeed trying to lose weight (lie if you have to) and since you don't have a car, you walk more than 20 miles a week (make up an approximate number -- I bet it adds up). Also, if it actually is the start of arthritis, wouldn't it be better to start treating it now before it gets disabling?

Then, if the doctor still isn't forthcoming, ask for a referral to a doctor who will look into it.

Thanks, Theo, for following up with actual good ways to combat the horrible healthcare ignorance, which is more productive than my HULK SMASH reaction...

Yeah, very nice, Theo. I am heavily into rage-avoidance mode, which often results in issue-avoidance.

Damn, it's been 20 years since I was in the USSR.

I was going to say -- hasn't it been 20 years since ANYONE was in the USSR??