After a couple of days of constant alert and next to no rest, Albert grew extremely tired and irritable. He had trouble keeping his eyes open and he hadn’t been to the stationary shop in quite some time.
05.26.2021
I can relate to this experience of tired irritability on multiple of levels. One of those is my own experience of not getting enough sleep and then moving through a day with a ragged sense of my surroundings. Never an easy day. Another is supporting students at school who have gotten into a rough spot in the midst of their day. Perhaps it was a harsh word with a peer or a resistance to follow the teacher’s directions, but a lot of times when we start checking in to see what’s going on with the child, they didn’t get enough sleep the night before. It doesn’t mean we affirm the actions that have come as a result, but it is universally understandable that lack of sleep leads to crankiness. Once we acknowledge that and agree to show ourselves and others a little more grace, it often helps the day go a little better. A quick power nap never hurts either.
He then kept a careful watch of the goings on in the neighborhood.
05.25.2021
This drawing hits a little close to home. I have a front door with three small windows in the top, and I am way too frequently popping over to them to have a look at what’s going on outside. If I hear an unfamiliar sound I am especially ready to make my way there, but I often just make a routine wander to the window to glance out for an update on the front yard and street.
And he didn’t stop at the outside of his house. Indoors, Albert set traps, added locks, tied trip-wires, and boarded up windows to make sure that any potential burglar would find their path to his fridge very unpleasant.
05.24.2021
I have never actually seen a bear trap before, but it seems like Albert might add one to help round out his defense system. I have always imagined a snake trap, whatever that may look like, would be useful as well. Even though an actual snake only showed up a few times in my childhood, and always outdoors, I remember having nightmares that huge snakes that lived under my bed would try to catch me if I didn’t jump far out from the edge of my bed when I got up in the night. Actually, as I write this and remember chilling snake scenes from various wildlife shows, maybe it should be a snake trap after all that Albert sets in place. Either way, I don’t think anyone will make it to the pie.
First thing in the morning, Albert ordered supplies from the local hardware store. As they arrived, he set to work building a fence around 7 Pickle Street.
05.21.2021
On the outside, Albert simply appears to be starting a new home improvement project, but something troubling is brewing here. He hasn’t been sleeping well, he’s chained up his refrigerator, and now he’s taking extra measures to keep the outside world at bay.
Albert tossed and turned, finding no sleep that night.
05.20.2021
There are nights when it is just difficult to get to sleep. It is usually a struggle to decide whether to get up and try to do something productive or to remain in bed in the hopes of drifting back to sleep for those few precious hours of rest. I have always been a morning person, so if it is 4 am or later, I tend to go ahead and get up to begin the day. If it’s earlier than that however, I am often trying to quiet my mind to gain a few more hours of sleep.
I don’t think Albert’s getting nearly his recommended amounts of sleep these days.