“When Do You Sleep? “

This past weekend, I was the main speaker at the conference held by the Polish Genealogical Society of Connecticut and the Northeast (see previous post). After my second talk of the day, “Genealogy and Technology: Connect Your Family Online,” one of the attendees came up and asked me this question, “When Do You Sleep?” She said that after hearing about all of the different projects I work on related to genealogy, running a family web site, producing a family newsletter, creating a family tribute DVD, writing articles and books, teaching classes, giving presentations and appearing at book signings. All this, plus my full time job. I said, “Well, I don’t that much anymore.” And then jokingly, “Have you heard of Red Bull? That’s how I do it.”

Now, this exchange was made in good fun, but I was thinking about it on the drive home today. Sleep has been a bit of a luxury in the past month or so. Writing deadlines, engagements, and travel have consumed my time. I would rather be busy than bored (It is a rare occasion to find me lounging on the couch for more than 15 or 30 minutes… I am just compelled to do something constructive during most of my waking hours). Logically, I know that this frenetic pace is not necessarily healthy or good practice. Yes, I’ve heard and read the news reports about the U.S. being a “sleep deprived nation” and I am not proud to say that I am in my own small way contributing to this phenomenon. But, I can take a hint. As a genealogist, I am a firm believer in serendipity. I don’t believe the exchange with this person at the conference was random. I think it was meant to actually “wake me up” in a sense.

I think I will stop writing for now and actually go to sleep early tonight (Okay, I confess it will be after CSI Miami is over). It will be nice to get a few extra Z’s though.