Yesterday Olof found out that he had to be in Uppsala today for some sort of meeting regarding his current work project. It was just a one-day thing, so he flew down this morning and will be back late this evening. These days are always a bit rough because his flight out leaves at 6:45, meaning that he has to be up at 5:30, which has the effect of throwing all of our sleep schedules out of whack. He doesn’t need me to wake him, but I’m such a light sleeper that it would be impossible for me to sleep through his getting up. Not only that, but with the alarm set for 5:30, I’m guaranteed to wake up no later than 5:25 because I truly hate waking to an alarm and my internal clock will rouse me before it goes off to spare me the agony.

Making matters worse last night, Tage was feeling sick and running a fever so he slept very restlessly. Again, I’m a very light sleeper, and if he sleeps restlessly I sleep restlessly. I don’t think Olof’s sleep was any better than mine, judging by all the tossing, turning, and tooth-grinding he was doing, and I honestly felt for him when he had to roll out of bed and face the darkness and sub-zero temperatures.

I felt for myself, too, when Tage woke up as Olof was leaving and stayed awake for more than an hour. After he was asleep again, just before 7:00, I went to Lydia’s room to wake her up, and she claimed to be sick as well. Ordinarily I’m inclined to think she’s faking, but she was complaining last night of an upset stomach and she was pretty pale and feverish this morning, so I told her to go back to sleep and called her school to leave a message that she wouldn’t be there today. She’s been missing a lot of school lately (well, I wouldn’t say she’s been missing it), but if she’s sick, she’s sick and not much I can do about it, I suppose.

After I made the call I went back to bed myself, and Tage and I slept until almost 10:30. The rest of the day has been the way you might expect a long day alone with two sick kids would be. At least Olof’s due home soon.