Pardon me while I groan out loud. This was really the first day of the rest of my life, and it felt as if it could have been the last. I know I’ve had days like this before, but there’s a confluence of circumstances that makes this one stand out.

There’s The Kennel, and all the adjustments I’m having to make to keep two separate companies going at the same time. Just when I had a system working that helped me get all the essential work done during the course of a week, suddenly I’m not only doing all this extra kennel work, but also doing all the setup of kennel files and kennel routines that I’ll need if I’m ever going to get back on an even keel. Which right now seems like pretty much a hoot in a hailstorm.

And then there’s the time change, which is still magnifying my sleep issues. No need to go on and on about that (again). This weekend was horrible, and the Monday morning spillover effect was something even the Boss noticed when I talked to him on the phone.

I woke up today not just tired but also woozy from that unbalanced feeling that comes from sinus congestion. My head is so stuffed up I can hardly breathe, much less speak coherently. It also seems to be affecting even my ability to type meaningful sentences. I’m not sure how that works.

On top of all that, it was dark all day. I mean dark as in dark. The cloud cover was a filthy shade of gray, and it made the air look and feel like dryer lint. I don’t take to winter well (oh, really?), and I especially don’t need it to set in on a day when everything else in my life is swarming around and stinging me.

To make up for all the interruptions during the day, I worked until 9:00 pm tonight, just to get through the Monday items on my to-do list. This is the only thing I’m not complaining about, believe it or not. I told Julie today that even though I’m not a morning person, there are at least eight hours in any given day when I feel I can be productive. It’s just too bad they can’t come when people are making their demands on me.

It was kind of nice, though, to be writing checks and updating accounts at a time when I knew I wouldn’t be interrupted. If that’s what I have to do to get through this rough patch, it’s not the worst thing that could happen. I’ll be glad when all the hammering starts to feel routine, though. They say that happens eventually.