Lesson learned/ Sunkist is evil

Those who know me well know that I don't drink caffeine after 3pm or I am up until 2am.  It has been YEARS since I have deviated from this much past 3:30.  I know what is at stake.  It is not worth it.

However, terrible things happen when you drink a soda that you don't know has caffeine in it.  Raise your hand if you knew that Orange Sunkist has caffeine in it?  Not only does it have caffeine, but it has MORE caffeine than a Dr. Pepper.  And I drank one with my dinner at 6:30 last night.  I was at small group.  I always drink water for dinner at small group.  I saw the Orange Sunkist and thought, "Hey, I haven't had one of those in years.  That would be fun."  Never once thought about caffeine, because it's an orange drink that most kids drink.  So, I was getting ready for bed but wasn't feeling very tired.  So I read until about 10:45. As soon as I turned off the light and closed my eyes, I knew.  I knew that I was not going to get any sleep. See, caffeine doesn't really make me feel awake.  I still feel tired, but as soon as I close my eyes, my mind races and my eyes behind my eyelids don't stop moving.  I know that sounds weird, but it's the best way I can describe it.  So I got out of bed, turned the computer back on, and looked up the dreaded information about the caffeine content in Sunkist.  I almost cried.  Because at that point I have to make a decision: do I stay up until 2am and get some things done/ watch TV?  Or do I lay in bed for 3 hours in hopes that I might at least doze a couple of times?  Usually I choose the lay in bed option, but I knew that I was really frustrated and the laying in bed option sometimes causes more frustration and tears and anxiety when I can't fall asleep.  Sometimes I just calmly lay in bed.  I decided on the first option.  I watched a couple of episodes of Chuck and then read through old posts on my blog until 1:30am.  It was a rough day today because of the lack of sleep, but I made it through.  Sometimes it was even humorous.  My boss had to restart my sentence for me twice when I couldn't remember what I was saying.  Not embarrassing at all, I promise. :)

So, here's to a good night of sleep and a better day tomorrow.

PS.  I just looked up the caffeine content in Orange Crush.  It's caffeine free.  So I'm not entirely crazy for thinking that Orange Sunkist would be caffeine free.