early morning is early

In the interest of its being easier for me to travel to my folks' more often in the upcoming months, which I would like to be able to do, I have (with the blessing of everyone who gets to bless such things) switched to a schedule of four ten-hour days instead of five eight-hour days, starting today. For extra added awesome, I floated the idea of alternating which was the fifth day (Monday or Friday) by week, and it flew - meaning every other week I'll have a four-day weekend. My dad said the stuff he's been saying lately, about how of course he'll be delighted to see me but he doesn't want to be all kinds of extra burden so if I get to a long weekend and think I'm exhausted, I don't want to go to Cleveland, blah blah blah, and he gets the concept but doesn't want me to make my life harder with longer days and so on. To which I said, look, I was never suggesting that I would come to Cleveland every two weeks just because that's when I have the long weekends - so if I get to a long weekend and I don't want to drive to Cleveland (and, I didn't say, you and Mom don't need me), then I won't do it. And that being said, having a four-day week is so much better for me that I assure you I won't mind the longer days; my work is not so strenuous that I can't do two more hours of it in a day, especially when the payoff is a day of not going in at all. People covet four-day work-weeks. Of course if I'd gone to HR and said "You know, I don't think I want to come to work five days a week," normally they'd have said "... You're going to need to come to work five days a week." But given the circumstances they've been very flexible and understanding - not (and I did say this to my dad) to say that I'm lucky to have circumstances calling for adjusting my schedule to a four-day one, because hell, I'd work five ten-hour days if the payoff were that he'd be well again; but I am lucky to work with and for people who are (and are able to be) so groovy about how and when I get the work done.

( Tangentially, )

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( I also expect I will sleep better Thursday night than I did last night, because it would hardly be possible to sleep worse. )

Goodness, I've been rambling for a while.