It's like this every night.  The battle with the sandman ... and it appears that I am the clear-cut winner here.

No matter how much sand is thrown in my face, I don't get sleepy.  Guess it's 'cause I have too many worries on my mind:  career.  Kids.  The upcoming Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays (BAH the humbug!!).  Car and house payments.  Electric/Utilities.  Gas.  The cost of foodstuffs.  No matter what I do, what I try, I just can't get enough in the way of blissful shuteye.

Doesn't help that the goddamn cat keeps me up all night with her bouncing around or the fact that the littlest child in our family cries because she messed in her diaper again or is hungry; and she demands to be fed ... NOW.

Also doesn't help that my elderly mother is in a nursing home because she fell and broke her hip two months ago and is healing much slower than I (or she) would like.  She is diabetic and really doesn't take care of herself.  I'm always after her, to make sure she takes her insulin correctly, to take her pills, and make sure she eats enough so she doesn't have another insulin reaction or a high, where her blood sugar soars through the roof and makes her stupid (or worse, unconscious).

While my wife and kids slumber through the night (excepting for the baby, that is; that's to be expected; she's only four months old), I am awake.  Bright eyed and bushy-tailed.  Good morning!  NOT! (More like very early morning for me!)   I lie there in bed, tossing and turning, listening to the ever-present tick, tick, tick of the clock, look at the glowing red numbers to see what time it is and wondering why in God's name I am not joining my family in dreamland.

If I could put my worries aside for just one minute, one hour, no, one day, I'd probably sleep a lot better than I do.  Or I wake up because "nature called", and once I'm awake ... forget about sleep!  I'm up for the duration!  My days are a lot longer than most people's, and I hate it ... I absolutely HATE it!!

If someone could give me any pointers or tips on how to get some sleep, I'm all ears! I'm tired of living life as a zombie who looked like he just crawled out of some fetid, rotten grave!!