A Long Day

Today I will put in a full 8 hours at work. It's going to be tough. Not that I can't do 8 hours, but I slept restlessly last night and ended up on the couch as Ann's been having sporadic coughing fits that disrupt any REM sleep I might be in.

I'm tired. I'm really, really tired.

I know once I get to work, don the green vest they make us wear, and get to stocking sunglasses and watches I'll wake up a bit, but right now I just want to curl back into bed (or on the couch) and sleep until the cows come home.

It's not going to happen...

...so, in an attempt to be more positive...

...despite the weariness of my bones, work has been fun. Nothing high-pressured or even boring for that matter. The other day I worked into the early evening and ended my shift by helping a man and a woman who were looking to travel to the Olympic Peninsula. I'm pretty familiar with the OP having lived there for 17 years, but what made this conversation so challenging is that the man was deaf and his partner, a woman, was deaf and blind. They were accompanied by a very sweet, old companion dog named Cleo who rested at my feet while we carried on our conversation about beach hikes.

Luckily, I know some sign language so with my fumbling fingers we got quite a conversation going. The woman even complimented me on my knowledge of sign, but luckily she couldn't see all the mistakes I was making since she relied upon the man to interpret my signing.

I felt pretty good about helping them, though eventually we came to the understanding that they needed to talk to the Ranger and he, unfortunately, had gone home for the day. But they vowed to come back the next day and sure enough, just as I walked onto my shift in the evening, their they were, busily writing messages back and forth with the Ranger.

By the way, the sign for "Ranger" is hilarious...or at least the sign the man used as many signs are regional. It's the sign of holding a rifle in your hands and shooting. When he signed it for me at first, I laughed and he laughed at me laughing. Well, when I saw them again, I went over to see if they needed any help, which they did, and I spent the next 15 minutes being a go-between with the Rifle-in-your-hands-man.

Every deaf person I have ever met (well, with the exception of one) has been incredibly patient and kind. (Ironically, the "one" I also met at work and once he knew I could sign, he yelled at me about the lack of prices on some of the items. Yelling in sign is quite an art form and let me tell you, he had it down).

Anyway, this couple was extremely patient and very, very kind not only to each other, but to me as well. My head hurt after the exchange because, just like any other foreign language, it takes a lot of energy to think in sign and then to actually sign correctly or at least correctly enough to make your point. But all in all, it felt great to help them out.

Who says teaching is the only place you can really make a difference?

Which reminds me...I dropped brownies off at school yesterday with a card from Rubin wishing everyone a great year. Walking into the school brought back all those sort of AD-HD moments when the body has to move from one thing to the next without any sort of completion. I was at the school for maybe 10 minutes and by the time I left, I was sweating.

Despite the $500 paycheck I received yesterday, I made the right choice to "retire." My blood pressure is happier.

Though this morning, after not much sleep and a fitful stretch on the couch, my blood pressure probably isn't that happy.

Alas.

It's a beautiful morning, though, and in an attempt to save the earth and reduce my butt, I'll be pedaling in so I best pack it up and get on my way. Thankfully there are showers at work, which will give me one more chance to wake up before I hit the sales floor.