The virtue of sleep (or why DVR will solve my problems)

I was talking to my mom tonight about my sleep deprivation and how I have to refocus everything on getting more sleep. She went on to tell me how much she wished I could afford to by a DVR, how much of a life-saver it's been for her, how hard it is to function the next day if she stays up late to watch TV, and how much she wished she could afford to buy me one. I replied that I don't stay up to watch TV, that I stay up to clean, do laundry, cook, knit, or just to have a few moments to myself in a quiet house.

I don't know if she has some sort of amnesia about how damned hard this is or if she's a part of the, "Well I survived it, so she can too," club. No offer of a baked ziti, or even just meatballs. I get the line about how I can't go to two grocery stores in the same weekend but no offer to come and help me go grocery shopping. It's like the breastfeeding thing all over again. She'll sit from afar and criticize and offer pointless advice, but never drive the 10 minutes to help her first-born keep her head above water.

Despite my therapist almost ordering me to do so, we will not be asking them for financial help in getting Michael into a daycare program once a week so I don't burn out.

Hell, she didn't have any help like that and her kids turned out fine.

(Sorry, I'm a bit bitter -- yes, she really did suggest DVR as a solution. God, how I wish that were an exaggeration.)