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Living on Pocket Coffee and True Love

This has been one busy weekend. I have been designing a new (and of course very urgent) feature this weekend for a client. I don't know about you; but designing a software architecture for me is a abstract/visual process. I see components and source code interacting in my mind. This is particularly true in the beginning of the design phase while I still have to understand the problem, constraints and possible options. When I have a rough idea of what I want to do, I scribble a lot of notes before I get more concrete and draft charts and UML diagrams. I was present (at least physically) this weekend and have vague memories of going to a park and playing with the kids.

I cannot have been there mentally though as my youngest daughter looked up at me after particularly intense “session“ and said Daddy, where did you go? It didn't go much better yesterday. I was inside documenting the new architecture while the kids where out playing. At once stage I looked at the watch and said to myself; one hour until dinner, plenty of time to finish the sequence diagram. A couple of minutes one hour later the kids were at the door asking for dinner.

I had to be at a clients site at 4 am (i.e. get up at 3 am) to support a release this morning so I went to bed when the kids went to bed yesterday. I got about three hours of sleep before the youngest daughter woke up and ended up in our bed. That was all the sleep I got. She has had a nasty cold for several days so she doesn't sleep well. I fell asleep, she “kicked” me in the back, I fell asleep again and she “hit“ me on the shoulder and so on until I decided I might as well get out of bed and get some work done.

This is where the Pocket Coffee come into the story. I have never seen Jolt Cola in Italy so Pocket Coffee has become a substitute for me. They are chocolates with a liquid coffee center. Sugar for the brain and some caffeine to keep you going through the night.  The release wet well so I managed to leave at a decent time and go to another client before heading home.

When I came back today I was pretty much wrecked and ready to go to bed. That changed as soon as I came in the door. My youngest daughter, that had kept me awake most of the night, came running, jumped up into my arms and shouted "My Daddy!" repeatedly giving me big hugs. This is where True Love come into the story. I don't know what it is; kids can drive you crazy sometimes but five minutes later you love them more than anything else in the world. I melted inside and didn't have the heart to go to bed. After playing for a couple of hours with homemade puzzles (more on that later) and other toys I finally have 1/2 hour for some rest while she picks up her big sister at school.

Feeling tired, more tired, ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz.........