When I go to bed early on Christmas Eve, Christmas always comes sooner than it would if I went to be later at night. (Based on an assumed standard average number of hours of sleep per night).
In a perfect world the very opposite would be true for the first day back at work after a glorious vacation. The longer I stay up on Sunday night, the farther away reality should be on the other side of sleep - Monday. I try to exercise this theory at the end of every vacation and every time I end up sitting on the couch, staring at the television, alone in the dark. Nothing is ever "going on" and I don't want to "do" anything. I'm not wishing I had some company or waiting for my favorite movie of all time to come on. I am too tired to have any sort of side project to speak of. I have one goal, and one goal only. STAY AWAKE.
I stare at the TV engrossed in the woes of the honey bee on Discovery channel or occupying myself with dreams of the AMAZING SHAM WOW! My brother used to say that I would watch a televised religious sermon before I would turn the TV off. In the case of the last night of vacation it is more or less true.
Yes. Stay awake, I tell myself. The longer you stay up, the longer your vacation will be.
Last night was no exception (naturally). From the outside, I think it may have looked something like this:
