I tend to work late. A lot. Most of the time, in fact. I have done so my whole life - even during my years in the Army; despite being required to show up for formation around 6am every morning, (and therefore rolling out of bed at 5am), I still stayed up until 2am almost every night. It's simply the way that my brain is wired, I guess. To be honest - it often feels as though I'm living two lives at once, although I know of no other way to live.
That being said, it's not healthy. And I know that. I have written blogs about my experiences with Essential Tremors, and a lack of sleep makes my struggles with that disorder so much worse. And yet, night after night I find myself back at my computer slogging through another list of issues that I feel I should have resolved a few days earlier. I just cannot seem to turn my brain on and off according to some other schedule - even if that schedule is being dictated by the rotation of the planet.
Out of frustration with my personal dilemma, I penned the following:
If you burn a candle at both ends
To slave throughout the night
It illuminates your toils
To your struggles brief respite
But its glow is a deception
And does not dilute your plight
Its candescence will soon wither
As shadows reclaim their right
Two flames convey no solace
For despite their pretty sight
Candles last for half as long
When they burn with twice the light
(H/T Edna St. Vincent Millay)