Caffeine Breakaway Day II

Today, the withdrawals got worse. They say things sometimes have to get worse before they get better. This was exemplary of that fact. I went to bed at 6:00 a.m. and woke up at 12:00 p.m. to the sound of billowing winds whirling around the house. It sounded like snow, which I had been hoping for, but was disappointed earlier in the morning. There was no snow anywhere in sight. How infuriating since it had been in the forecast for both the past two days.

I was so tired that I had fallen asleep facing left rather than my usual right. When I had awoken, there was our cat, Scream, sleeping there just below the other pillow. He too, had just woken up from his snuggled position.

Everything seemed to be going fine, except for the stress of working on so many multiple projects was getting to me more than usual. Eventually, it all started to blur together. I started walking around and pacing, procrastinating the fact that I might need more sleep today if I was going to accomplish anything. After scratching my head a lot out of nervousness, I finally took that delicious shower, soaking up the heat from the water.

I started to feel faint and as though I might pass out while conditioning my hair. Then, I noticed that both of my hands were shaking, which was unusual, though nervousness runs in my family. My mom gets the shakes terribly bad when any little thing upsets her. These "shakes" were different because it was mild--the sign of caffeine withdrawals. I rushed to get done with the shower, which was difficult the way I was feeling.

I wasn't sure if some food would help, but since I had skipped supper last night, and had only had a bowl of cereal this morning, I didn't think it would hurt. I had some whole wheat crackers with peanut butter and honey. Afterwards, I took off my socks and shoes and snuggled into the warmth of the comforter and blankets at around 3:45.

When I woke up again, I heard the door slam. David had come and gone, and I had missed it--granted that I remember waking up and telling him in a groggy trance that I didn't feel well at all. Also considering that I'd been getting between 2, 3, and 4 hours of sleep each night working work items at home, I had been fairly exhausted.

I peeked through the white blinds and sure enough, snow was whirling around, and had already covered the ground halfway with snowy patches. I walked outside and the snow was covering the ground, just not the concrete, and the roads, which was a real bummer. It would be terrific to just have a day to stay at home and catch up on everything. In truth, that would probably take a week or two. But for now, it was enough to simply enjoy the snow while it lasted.

The shakes had left, and with any luck I was past the worst part of the caffeine withdrawals. When you have 8-9 caffeinated sodas a day, it takes getting used to lower doses, such as one cup of tea at a restaurant or one cup of green tea. There's a big difference.