The rant of an IT widow

Yesterday morning Phillip went to work. He went in sort of late because it was going to be a late night. Once a month the fastidious little IT workers hustle about the office after hours taping servers back together and hiding the developers' keyboards. Usually he's home around eleven or midnight, after I'm in bed. But I leave a light on and sometimes the TV and he always wakes me up, even if he tries not to, and then I make sure to get up with Jack in the morning because my poor husband had to work so late.

It's a little after nine today and Phillip is still not home. Which means he's been at work 24 hours. I fell asleep with the lights on, the TV on and a copy of Entertainment Weekly under my chin. I woke up during the night and looked over and didn't see Phillip and wondered about the time. When I found my [old! hateful!] glasses and looked at the television, the news was on. It was 5:30. You should not have to wake up unexpectedly at 5:30 and wonder where your husband is. GAH.

Anyway this morning I am being lax on the whole Eating Takes Place In Your High Chair rule and the Getting Into The Bathroom Cabinet rule and the No Irritating Children's Morning Shows rule. We've had a hard night, you know.

Actually, not that hard. My parents were here most of the day yesterday and when they left I packed up Jack and took him to a friend's house. So it's not like I was working too hard. Oh, except for picking out my new glasses, which I had to do BY MYSELF. The receptionist lady was helping me, but you guys, I am so indecisive. Half of them are too big for my face, half of them are too cool for my face, half of them are freaking expensive, half of them weren't going to work with my GIANT COKE BOTTLE LENSES- anyway, you can see by my brilliant math there that I didn't have many left to choose from. I ended up with what the receptionist called "the little black dress" of eyeglass frames. Plain, black, not too big, not too trendy, but a far cry from the plastic granny glasses I wore back in sixth grade. And cheap enough so that my insurance covered the frames price, which, GOOD THING because do you realize how expensive your glasses are when you are BLIND? So blind the eye doctor gives you a sympathetic smile and then "highly recommends" the "high index" lenses, which, in case you have 20/20 vision on your own (and I hate you), are the THINNEST POSSIBLE LENSES YOU CAN GET. Which are STILL going to be thicker than your frames.

HUGE WOUNDED SIGH.

Anyway, one nice thing about roseola (for those of you who haven't experienced this lovely childhood virus) is sleep. Lots and lots of it. Jack's been a sleeping superstar for a few weeks now, but wow, roseola takes it to a whole new level. He's over it now, but the sleep is still good. I was not feeling so hot last night and dreading the Nightly Contractions, but Mr. Jack went to bed EARLY and BY HIMSELF. Whee! Oh, and then there were no contractions. I chalk it up to not going to bed until midnight. If I'm not lying horizontal and obsessing about contractions for hours before I go to sleep, it won't happen. Self fulfilling prophecies and all that. Not that I didn't invite God into my living room last night to discuss the various unfairnesses and indignities in the last weeks of pregnancy. Really, any day now would be nice.

Comments

[Lindsay]

Oh MY God!!!! I thought 24 hour shifts were a made up thing that the doctors on Grey's Anatomy talked about! It is for real? In the IT industry? You poor woman. And really poor Phillip.

[Jen]

You should show us a picture of you in your new glasses!

And twenty-four hours, that is crazy! Yikes.

[Dr. Maureen]

Picking out glasses is incredibly stressful, because it is like picking out a new FACE. And hoo boy, but I hear you about the thick lenses (see previous entry's comment re: couldn't see the big E 20,000 prescriptions ago).

Also: People with 20/20 vision should be publicly flogged.

[Jess]

How can anyone do good, trustworthy work that won't send systems crashing after 24 hours straight at the office? SHEESH.

[Jennifer]

Fellow IT widow here... my husband got home from work yesterday around 5:30, only to change clothes and go back to work to fix a problem with one of the servers. Which left me with a newborn and a 15 month old to feed, give baths to and put to bed. SIGH, what a job! He didn't get home until around midnight, but at least he didn't have to pull an all-nighter like your husband. Poor thing! I know you're ready for the baby to get here... hang in there!

[Tracy]

picking new glasses by yourself is incredibly hard. I had to do it recently and while I did good (I hope, I think), it was very hard.

tell Phillip to come home, you need a nap. or at least a break.

24 hours. wow.

[AmericanFamily]

While Mr. A isn't an IT guy, I know where you are coming from. Mr. A worked until 4:30 AM for the past two nights and had to be in the office by 8:00am. It is practically abusive to make him worth that much.

It is so much harder with tiny kids too. I hope he gets home soon.

[Lisa]

I'm with you on the glasses. Blind! Even so, I've found that those lenses you mentioned are acceptable, especially once they roll and polish the edges. You'd think, though, with all the technology and advances in the world, that they'd have created a very thin lens by now for every prescription. Oh yeah, I forgot...they call those contacts. Which I can't stand to wear anymore because of my cursed dry eyes. Grrr...

[Wickedly Scarlett]

Oh man, I'm sorry about Phillip's shift--how exhausting for him. I'm glad Jack is getting lots of rest, and I hope he feels better soon!

[Charlotte]

I'm so jealous! I have always pined for glasses but alas I have maximum visual acuity, 20/15. Sigh.

[Christina]

I remember when Hubby used to be "on call" - I had No patience for it. "You're not a doctor! No one will DIE if you don't fix a bug!!" Yeah, not such a sympathetic widow was I.
Totally hear you on the glasses. Having been forced to wear mine for the last week and a half I'm pretty used to them now but I still don't feel like ME in them. sigh.