There was a time not too long ago when I thought I knew what “tired” was. Memories of taking exams while enjoying intravenous espressos after all-nighter study sessions come to mind. But since then, it’s pretty clear that I’ve been on easy street. Getting up at 6 am after a long night of playing World of Warcraft was about as bad as it got for me. But now that we have a baby, especially one that never wants to sleep, my definition of “tired” has changed dramatically. We are no longer talking about sleep deprivation alone, but the more complex and serious fatigue that can only come from having a crying baby scream in your face for hours on end. Why are government agencies bothering with water boarding? Just keep the prisoner from sleeping for 48 hrs and then have them hold Mateo for a few hours before a feeding. I swear you’ll get any information you want from them! Experienced parents are probably nodding their heads in sympathy or possibly having a good laugh right now, haha! Of course we know this phase will pass, but until it does I really need to be aware of how my fatigue affects shop safety. Being physically and mentally worn down is a VERY dangerous mix in the woodshop.
In the last month, I have injured myself more times than I have in the past few years! Now we’re not talking hospital visits here. Just small cuts and scrapes (mostly from hand tools) and a couple of close calls. Enough for me to take a step back and seriously evaluate how I feel before I step into the shop. If there is one thing I learned about myself, it’s that I have NO business being in the shop when I’m tired.
The problem with fatigue is it’s a little like being drunk. You may be a little more complacent than usual. You might make slightly more risky cuts. You might not set up all the proper safety devices. The phrase, “Its just one cut” will likely come out of your mouth. Even something as simple as having a weaker grip on your chisel or push stick could have dangerous ramifications. Basically, all of our safety training goes out the window if you compromise your ability to make good decisions and execute properly.
With this new appreciation for the effects of fatigue on safety, I am happy to say I have been making the decision to stay home much more often than usual. I guess I’ll just edit more video. Like my good buddy Ice Cube says, “Check yo self before you wreck yo self!”
Couldn’t have said it better myself. I find that it not only creeps into safety, but accuracy and attention to detail suffers greatly as well. This is so true for those of us that have our “workshops” attached to our living space. Baby down for a nap?? Steal a hour in the workshop. The disjointed pace of working while parenting is a real battle. There have more than one time I had to re-do a part because I cut to the wrong length or dadoed the wrong side of a leg, etc.
Second that! My little girl’s pushing two this month and it’s still an issue when she has another tooth come in.. Waking up almost hourly; although it’s only for brief moments, it still amounts to only half a night of sleep! Compounded over a week or more it makes a person a little ‘slap happy’; I end up going through the days on auto-pilot and have caught myself having conversations when I am the only person in the shop!!
I know when I start asking myself questions, and answering them in the same breath it’s time to call it a day!
~Good article Marc
Dude – the stage will pass. But, as you said, you want it to pass with all ten fingers!
Wise move, my man. I usually slate things like shop clean up or sanding for days when I’m wiped out.
Nice picture, by the way.
Tom is on the right track here: Being fatigued doesn’t in itself exclude important time in an overall productive shop. I completed some of my best work yet when our daughter was this age.
One simply uses the time differently. Pushing a broom, pushing a sanding block, putting things back on the shelf, changing a router bit, setting up a roller stand, etc. These are all mindless tasks that are a.) done with the power off and b.) tasks that would otherwise waste the rare, precious windows of time that you are both free and awake enough to make sawdust.
I managed one shop session where I completed four operations at four different machines in less than half an hour. It worked because *Punchdrunk Rob* had already arranged everything to a nicety the night before. The next day, *Alert Rob* could then walk right in, get straight to work and then get back to kid duty before anyone noticed I was gone.
So true Marc…
How many hobbyists out there go and hit the daily grind for 8-10 hours, then gym and then home to the kids etc and then find time for the shop. How alert are you really while you’re out there.
My day job requires that I be on call 24 hrs a day and I have noticed that after a middle of the night call that even after a few hours of sleep that I’m still fairly compromised still. You’re absolutely right…it’s like being drunk. I feel fine, but I am I really. I have found myself in the shop after one of these nights and will mill up the same piece twice because I had forgotten that I had already done so etc.
Stay safe and only work when you know you’re at 100%
Marc,
You have made a great point here. A point that often gets minimized or overlooked. Fatigue is a dangerous co-worker in the shop. I can speak from personal experience. About two and a half years ago, fatigue bit me in the ?. Well, you know.
I had been at work all weekend and got home Sunday evening. I knew I was sleepy, but I had a brand new, shinny UniSaw sitting in my shop that I just had to play with. I ?couldn?t? wait another day. Less then 1 minute into playing with my toy, she bit me. I had a kick-back and pulled back a couple of bloody fingers. Now, I was very lucky. I still have all of my parts and they work fairly well. It could have much worse. A trip to the ER, a few weeks off of work, a couple of months of physical therapy and about a four month suspension from my shop was all I had to endure. Ok, it was not the most comfortable thing I have ever done.
I take full blame for my careless actions. However, if I was better rested, I doubt I would have been so careless. Stay rested, or stay out of the shop. OK, I will let myself sand if I?m tired, but that?s it.
Be safe.
-Brian
True… so true. Luckily for me, I sleep like a rock. I sleep through most of the crying and I don’t have the biological equipment to stay awake and feed the baby even if I do wake up… but my wife was a serious zombie and still losses quite a bit of sleep. It gets easier around the 3 month mark and even easier at the 16lb/6 month mark.
Hey Marc!
Amen brother. I can tell you with complete confidence (I have done it 2x) – you will survive! The thing I hope you will be willing to realize is that nothing will be the same as it was before. Allow yourself time to adjust, time to re-order your life and don’t fight it too much. Give yourself a chance to find your new groove – it takes time but it will come.
Isn’t it funny how someone so little can have such a profound effect on your life?
Your comment about safety is right on. There are many nights I put off shop time because I am just too tired and I am afraid I might reduce my # of digits or worse. It’s better to “live to build another day” than take a chance.
Thanks as always for your top notch content!
Hey, we have the same PJ pants!
I wonder too if anyone experiences project fatigue. It’s like the last 20 pages of a book. You need to just get through it but interruptions are making that last 20 pages last forever .. so you start skimming.
Does that ever happen with a project? You so close and you just wanna finish .. so you start skipping steps.
Far too often…
Pretty sure I fight that on every project….
Yep, I am legendary with the patience. Work slow. Enjoy the thousands of tiny steps, but there always seems to come a time when I’ve had enough. Generally very late in the process, and always shocks me when it rears its ugly head. Hadn’t thought of it as a safety thing, just a potential attention to detail issue. Good reminder that other consequences are in play.
Someone said it here, but I’ll concur. Fairly early on I learned that when the baby sleeps, that is when you sleep. It is not the time to squeeze in tons of “work.” Of course, I am a ready napper, so it fit my lifestyle naturally.
Enjoy, be conscious (even when not alert) and safe.
Speaking as a parent I believe you’re right. Speaking as a woodworker I believe you’re right. Thank you for posting this as a wake up call to all those who may be thinking they’re fine when they’re really past the point of being safe. Maybe it will give them pause.
It will pass… in a few years. It just enters different phases
Your taking it back a bit with the ice cube!
Well stated Marc. This phase will pass. For those times I’m in the shop and am tired, I save those times for sanding, cleanup, etc.
I agree 100%, sanding and sweeping are about all I can manage when my little one decides she is ideologically opposed to sleep. But in full disclosure, I usually sit in my shop chair and stare off into space :)
and I think his daddy said, “I like pig’s feet. Who ate all the pig’s feet.”
When my son was like that, I would put him in his car seat, put it on top of the dryer and turn it on.
After about ten minutes he would be sound asleep and I could get some rest. Good luck
Hang in there Marc, it definitely does get better. Give it 18 or 20 years or so until Mateo moves out, and then you’ll be fine ;)
I totally agree with everything you said. Its been a while since I’ve put in such a long day in the shop that I’ve been tired from just that, but after a day of work and then handling the kids, even a short time in the shop can sneak up on you. I used to travel quite a bit for work, and if I had any jet lag at all I’d avoid anything ‘complicated’ around the house until I’d gotten a good solid night of sleep. Like Jim A above, the most I’ll do in that condition is shop cleanup.
Marc, VERY sound advice – get some rest.
when my son first came home he woke my wife and I every two hours to be fed – I went through the first weeks of teaching in a complete daze – finally after a month of this we went to the Dr and he said when he wakes up for that nice warm milk give him a bottle of icecold water – he’ll protest for a few nights but will not wake you again. It worked a charm – So when my daughter did the same – we thought we had ‘the cure’ alas she was not so amenable.
As my Mother-in-law once said “the first 22 years are the worst” ;-)
Great tip. Fatigue is an enemy in the workshop ? and in many other circumstances as well. It?s also a good thing to keep in mind in general, even without parenting fatigue involved. Take breaks often and don?t work so long nonstop that you?re so tired that you don?t know it.
As a father of (more kids than the national average) I most definitely empathize with you. Trust me, this phase will end ? but only to be replaced by others. Not being negative, it just goes with the territory. They?re all joyous experiences ? at least as you look back on the memories ;-) There?s one workshop safety device that won?t help Mateo sleep, but will help take the edge off for you thus reducing your stress and fatigue overall ? ear plugs. That?s right. I said ear plugs. I started using them with my first child when one time she was so colicky that her cries were piercing my nerves like a spike in the back of the head, in the mastoid sinus right behind the ears. I was ready to have a stiff drink just to take the edge off the nerves. I decided to try ear plugs and it worked very well to take the edge off and keep my nerves calm. All my children are now 6yo and older and there are still times when I don those ear plugs just to keep the edge off. People think I?m crazy, but reducing the decibels by a good 26-29 points helps enormously. Hey, it?s cheaper than thorozine and safer than drinking!
Tom mentioned sanding and shop cleaning – I try to do something mentally relaxing, like looking at the wood pile and dreaming, make a few lists – both of things to do/supplies and project dreaming. But I don’t even pick up a chisel or screwdriver.
I find that with when I’m fatigued, I’m a fatigued klutz. So if it not a pencil, I just leave it.
Hang in!!
As a woodworker, a Dad and a Registered Nurse I thank you for the timely post. The last thing I want to do is meet a Guild Member in the ER.
Great article, and great advice Marc!!! Power tools, and even hand tools and tiredness are a dangerous mix. I know I have made some really silly mistakes when tired, luckily I haven’t had any close calls with accidents. Hope you can take a break, and put some of the dangerous stuff off for a while.
Nice PJs by the way :-)
It never hurts to hear “Be Safe” to often, especially if it is followed up with a really good reason why.
I believe I experience my tablesaw kickback experience a few years ago when I had “child induced sleep deprivation”. I’ve never entered the shop with the same low level of self awareness as that day. Great advice.
Marc:
Absolutely spot on article regarding being tired and shop safety. Tiredness is almost always a contributing factor to every mistake I make in my shop. As a side note, safety while driving is slowly being recognized as being as dangerous as driving under the influence.
Great photo!
Yep. Pretty right.
In fact, besides while the lil guy sleeps it would be a good time to work, all you are supposed to do is go to sleep together.
About the clock adjustment, just turn lights and allow normal noise during the day, keep things darker and quieter at night. He will gradually adjust. Believe. We all performed this way before…
Thats it. Welcome again to the greatest adventure in your life, pushing you beyond you thought you could do, nature is amazing, it prepares you to withstand children…
… but does not prepare you to withstand a table saw while in this process. So, very good point here.
After all, another joke of mother nature: forces you to give up more from other activities to dedicate efforts to the baby.
There`s a famous phrase here in Brazil that say something like this (sorry about the anoying translation):
“To be a parent is to fall apart in the paradise”. Only those who have children really understand it.
If I might make a suggestion for the sleeping schedule of your son…your long lost cousin – the baby whisperer – wrote a book that worked wonders with our kids. The baby whisperer solves all your problems. It gave us the routine that we fell into and helped keep my wife (and therefore me) sane! Stay safe and if you get a bouncy chair you can game and and rock the baby with your foot:)
Marc,
After a few close calls with not paying attention around power tools I have a system that works for me. I verbally say “respect” before turning anything on. To punish myself for forgetting I wear a rubber band around my wrist. I know it is a little crazy but I love playing guitar as well and a blister on my wrist is tons better than playing guitar without a finger. Enjoy this time I know it is hard, but soon he won’t want to cuddle and/or NEED you around.
Marc, you are spot on. Being tired leads to all sorts of inattention and poor judgement. I just don’t let my self go in the shop when tired. That is why I have so little shop time.
Look back to safety week almost 3 years ago and you will see why I couldn’t agree more.
Marc, if you haven’t yet, look into “happiest baby on the block.” Google it. It will make you understand why Mateo doesn’t stay asleep, and how to fix it. Sure, you can pat pat pat for hours and then tiptoe away, or use the car seat trick, but don’t you feel like crap when you have to repeat it every 2 hours? Not saying it will solve every problem, but this book sure helped me.
I’m feeling your pain Marc,
I have a nine month old who is getting his fifth and sixth teeth right now and he is hell (in a loving way) all day long. I have a new 850 sq ft shop that I am just dying to set up but I am so exhausted from taking care of the baby all day (my wife is a dentist) so I am at home with the little bundle of joy, by the time I get out there for few hours I am yawning and taking more risks than usual. I feel like if I don’t get a lot done I may not get back out here for a long time. You definitely can’t lose focus for even one second around power tools or you can lose the hobby we love, be safe everyone.
Marc,
Going to school full time, working full time and running a web development business on the side while attempting to get into woodworking. Don’t take that the wrong way, seeing my friend and his wife with their newborn, there is no comparison to my weak excuse! I have let shop safety slip a little here and there as well and got a nice 1.5″ x 1″ x 10″ sweet piece of Cherry shot directly into my stomach making a cutting board before Christmas. Gave me a nice bruise, a little cut and a nice loud wake-up call! I graduate in April, so perhaps I will have to wait until then to really start up on some projects. Then again, I am getting a new Saw this weekend with a lot more safety features…
Good luck and stay safe in the shop. Maybe find a good friend that is willing to watch the little one for a bit while you and the Lady get some shut eye for a couple hours.
Man…I’ve been there
Great post. I recently had the opportunity to spend a lot of continuous time in the shop, and quickly realized that being on my feet for 5 hours was a lot more tiring than sitting behind a desk for 8. That when I decided to either break up the day and do something completely different for awhile, or work on something (like cleaning) that didn’t require the use of sharp or power tools. That, and that little voice in my head have so far kept me from doing something stupid.
Ha, I feel your pain. I have a 7 month old son so we are just slightly ahead of you. When we were in the awake every two hours stage my wife actually told him that she would tell him anything he wanted to know if she could have a night of sleep.
Hi Mark
You are so right by posting this topic!
My wife Sue gave birth to Maddison a few days ago and we have been burning the candle at both ends with those 3am feeds!
Anyway my new 3/4 power drill press arrived and I whipped it together really quickly and after checking and re checking all the bolts and nuts I was ready to fire her up!
Instead of taking a small drill bit and making some small test holdes I grabbed a 400mm long shaft 1 inch Forsner bit and whacked it into the chuck.
I grabbed some scarp pine clamped it down and I was ready to go! I fired up the drill press and I didn’t check the speed, it was on the fastest setting.
I fired her up and the long shaft Forsner bit immdiatley went into a death spiral, the 400mm shaft flexing out to about 2 inches. Before I could hit the stop button the bit snapped off in the chuck and shot off like a scud missile impailing itself in the dry wall.
I just stood there with a Homer Simpson dropped jaw look on my face!!!
I switched the lights off in the workshop went upstairs and just hugged my wife and newborn baby girl.
Fatigue is definatley a killer!
Great topic!
All the best
Bryan
Australia
True, so true. So many comments. Nothing left to add. TWW World is taking over the universe! 10 minutes after a new article, and wow, the comments….
Echoing everyone else, let me just say that you’ll be losing sleep when your kids are teenagers…just for different reasons. ;-)
Let me also say that even a beer is chancy in the shop during work. After work? All you want. During work, even one takes the edge of of mental sharpness. It’s just not worth it. I’m sure Sam Adams would agree.
Marc,
This too shall pass, but in the meantime when you’re tired the sharpest tool you should work with is sandpaper. But believe me when I say that there will come a time when little Mateo will say, “Dad, can I try that?” and you won’t feel tired.
Mentally alert! not just awake!
We have these darned smart meters for our power, and up here in the Great White North 7am to 7pm are high rate times. So are you prepared to go into the shop at night after a long day doing other stuff? or do you just bite the bullet and pay more?
Babies eventually quieten, and (hopefully) move out.
Cheers!
Marc,
Preemies can be quite clingy. My son was a 25 weeker and for the first couple of months he had to be held pretty much 24/7. That’s not uncommon. Something about being ripped out of a nice cozy womb shoved into a box and then poked with a zillion needles makes ‘em kinda grumpy. My son now has an insanely high pain threshold. He even slept though a spinal tap, so watch out for that one later.
As for fatigue, my job requires that I be oncall 24 hours a day doing technical work that doesn’t really have a second chance sometimes. When something goes wrong in the middle of the night I know that I shouldn’t trust my judgement alone and I act accordingly. You’re simply impaired when you’re tired. Know your limits and what you have to do different when you’re operating beyond them.
Definitely stick with neanderthal ways for the meanwhile or at least limit power tools to within the certain hours where you know you’re most lucid.
Yes these days will end. Then it’s the terrible 2′s that last for about 3 years. Then you have little league practices and scout camping trips and karate classes and ……….
But if you just a little bit lucky, they will take a little interest n the shop and work on projects. Sweet. Oh yeah, the driver’s license and dating.
if you can get to a bookstore check out a book called baby wise. they make all kinds for up till teenage i believe? like i have mentioned to you before in emails we have a 3 month old. and he seems to be doing pretty good. nice pajamas!
Congratulations Marc and Nicole! Welcome Mateo.
Hey I hear you! My baby just turned three months old, I’m working a full time job helping with my baby girl and trying to find time for a few projects here and there. Here’s the best advise you will ever get for you and Mateo, set up a schedule and watch “The Happiest Baby On The Block”. Saved my life! My baby girl Emma went from 2 hrs of sleep at a time to 5-6 hrs. I hope this helps!
Well said.
I had a similar experience this week, not caused by fatigue but by illness. I’ve been fighting a sinus infection for about a week now and a couple days ago I went into the shop with a head full of sinus pressure. Couldn’t think straight, messed up a bunch of measurements, made some wrong cuts, got some stuff reversed. Nothing that couldn’t be corrected, but it was a great lesson in what not to do.
No worries… this to shall pass. Our first son slept the night away within about 4 weeks. The second, yeah, not like the first!
Great article Marc,
My second child had trouble sleeping also, try this book (not to knock him off), it made all the difference for us: On Becoming Baby Wise by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam
Take care
Newborns and especially babies who went through the NICU experience need attention and care. Baby Wise is about breaking their spirits.
Been there X 5 myself and babies redefine the word FATIGUE. Workshop and motorcycles follow the same rules, don’t use them if you’re sick, tired, mad, or distracted. Also. Whatever you do, don’t let the infant sleep in bed with you. There are many instances of a sleeping adult rolling over and smothering the infant, sad but very true.
Just saw my 5 grandchildren last week (all under 4 years old), now that’s the way to really enjoy them.
Retired now and you will have lots of time then to catch up on lost sleep.
Hang in there, once he starts sleeping through the night, you’ll get more rest.
It is amazing how much difference a little sleep can make. I did notice one thing in your photo opp though. I know that the picture was staged, but you are never supposed to sleep with an infant, because you might roll over on them. Someone told me that they need to breath.
Sleep tight and dream of the next guild build.
lol so you think that was staged eh?
Maybe it was, but I dont think that photo was staged. Unless you have an unbelievably obedient dog. In fact, that looks like one of the 20 or so photos of my son and I when he was a couple months old. After no sleep for days and days, I found I could conk out in about 10 seconds and be completely oblivious while my wife was making sure I didn’t drop him. It passes, but man those were ROUGH times!
Hey Marc just wait when he is going to start walking that will be fun too.
Best regards for you and your family. Stay strong :)
Ps. I have few the same pictures.
i’ve been there too, but now i have to admit that after a long day at work as a general carpenter, with dust, dirt and the additional grumpy clients, when i go to sleep at night and watch my two beautiful children, i feel its worth every cut, splinter and backache.
life is a contact sport after All
Best wishes, martin
The crying doesn’t end, it just changes to whining, then complaining then arguing then back to crying then, maybe…just maybe…it subsides when they are in the same position you are now. Good luck!
As for the shop time…any time you can spend in the shop when you get those few precious moments helps keep the passion fueled. There have been a few times in the past when I went weeks befoer I could get time to myself and found I did not know what I wanted to do so I just cleaned my machines. Get in the shop for some quiet “me” time but be honest with yourself before you start any machines. Stay safe my friends!
mark that is just the beginning…..after this they sleep and then they come in the middle of the night just when you are in the (MIDDLE) and want to sleep right in between the both of you….ok so far so good….after half an hour they start to kick you with the legs in you face and your wife with the arms in the belly…..after this stage they grow up…fine….then you are sitting at home till four in the morning because you know that they went out with this nasty boy from the neighbourhood and you are not compleetly shure what they are up to…..so my advice (what i’m doing)get a nap whenever you can. maybe a small bunk in the workshop will do….
Hey Marc, I know what you mean as I have an 18 month old that is not sleeping through the night any longer and I recall the early days as well.
Two safety rules for me…
#1 Do not use any power tools while really tired and exhausted and no dangerous hand tools.
#2 same for when I feel rushed, on the clock and feeling I have to get this done before I leave today.
Both can be dangerous.
Thanks for sharing the reminder.
Stephen.
Excellent point on safety. Sorry to hear he’s not sleeping well… if you’re swaddling, make sure he isn’t getting loose. My wife was always too delicate with the swaddle blanket and he’s wiggle out of it, but when I did it nice and snug he slept wonderfully. I’ll be in your shoes for the 2nd time again this June – we’ve got a little girl on the way!
One other thing I’d like to mention is something that hits me pretty often as a beginning wood worker – frustration. As I’m working on some nice wood and something blows out or breaks, I get frustrated and on a few occasions found myself about to do something really stupid to try and ‘catch up’ or fix the problem. Luckily I’ve yet to have any real close calls, and thanks to this site I’m at least starting to realize when something is dumb and dangerous. But I still need to catch myself when I get frustrated, take a deep breath, and analyze the problem.
First off congrats on the newest tax deduction. Hope he gets into a decent sleep rhythm soon!
Oh and babies cryin has been used on POW’s before. Along with other sounds on the battlefield to get into the other guy’s head and of course deprive them of rest/sleep.
Talk about hitting the nail on the head. I’ve got an eight month old, who is just now about to let me go back into the shop.
Right after she was born I decided to build her a cradle. After two weeks of being up till 3 a.m. I drilled a 1/2″ hole in my hand. Being very late, I walked myself to the hospital for hand surgery, they finished around seven, I walked back home and had to get breakfast ready for my 2 year old and take care of the newborn. My wife, had been up all night with the baby so she took a nap.
Seven months later I have two very cute daughters, no feeling in one finger, a nice cradle and no memories of fatigue from Abbeys first months.
Right on every note. It can be hard but it is also soo rewarding. Cherish those times Marc, Great article
Can I recommend a book I authored, “Two Years Without Sleep: Confessions of a New Father”? Oh…. what…. I never got around to writing it……too tired!
Hang in there, this will pass. Remember the three phases of parenting:
1-8 yrs old: Physically demanding- up all hours of the night, feeding, bathing, changing, dressing, etc
9-16 yrs old: Emotionally demanding- adolescents, puberty, boys, girls, teachers, “the ikky kid that sits besides me in math class,” “and then she said….”
16- x yrs old: Financially demanding- High school activities, college, private college!, weddings, first house, first grand baby, etc, etc, etc…..
No wonder God COMMANDED “Go forth and multiply” !!!
It’s one of the greatest things we have the privilege doing……
Hang in there! It was well over few months before I even had the courage to head back into the shop after having my daughter. And that was just piddling around reorganizing and using mostly hand tools. It does get better when they sleep more and require less feedings!!
My two daughters are worth any sacrifice. Plus, with the additional family member I had to get a bigger house and with the new house came my new stand alone shop.
I can totally relate Mark. I started out with twins which are 5 now. The first 3 months was not fun dealing with two kids at night. When the 3rd one came, I couldn’t figure out how I did it with twins. Just hang in there, you will get more sleep at night when they get older but you will get totally worn out in other ways. I never realized that working 12 hours is easier than 12 hours with 3 preschoolers.
Marc-Being the father of 3 adult children and 7 grandchildren I can understand what you are talking about! It gets better until he becomes a teen-ager,then the sleepless nights really begin! I can see you and your wife are good parents and can handle what life sends your way.Best wishes and God Bless.
Bob Schwartz
Hartford ,Wi.
Well Marc, these are the moments that you remember and will miss one day.
I missed out on the whiny first stages of life… I didn’t get the step-kids until they were 6 and 4. So I got the later whiny stages….
While they don’t have a personality, they will drive you to exhaustion. Once they have a personality, they drive to to physical and emotional exhaustion. Sometimes, it’s an effort just to pick up the dirty clothing…
My two are complete opposites, too. One is in bed by 8:00 ish at night, the other 4:00 ish in the morning. (Considering school starts at 8:00 am, this becomes an obvious problem.) The early to bed fellow is also an early riser; the late night lurker is naturally a night owl… and makes donkeys look cooperative. Between the two of them, plus driving everybody around for various schedules (I put easily 80 miles a day on the car playing taxi), “free time” usually becomes “nap time.” Every now and then, though, I can sneak away for some shop time.
I’ve discovered there are two problematic conditions that hamper your woodworking throughout this schedule. They are Fatigue and Stress. The cure for Fatigue is rest / sleep. The cure for Stress is shop time. Ironic, isn’t it?
At first I thought that was a bear at the foot of your bed. That dog is a monster!
Ahhh parenthood.