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I Think I Have Become A Morning Person

I’m a night owl by nature.  Never was I happier than during the years 1990-1994, when I was a college student and my day started at 10AM and ended at 1 or 2AM.  It’s just the way I’m wired.  And after having 3 kids, I’m convinced that we are all, indeed, hard-wired to be either morning persons or night owls.

How did I become convinced of this fact?  Because of my 3 children, I have one who is clearly predisposed to stay up late and sleep in while the others are not.  If I had 10 more children, I’m convinced I’d never have another who is as much like me as my middle child, and this is only one of many examples.

We get all 3 kids up at the same time in the morning, and we put all 3 kids to bed at the same time every night, but she cannot seem to go to sleep before 10PM.  She lies awake in her room, talking, imagining, singing, long after the others are asleep.  And to try and get her up in the morning is like trying to rouse a hibernating bear in January.

And the funny thing is, I remember as a child, lying in my bed long after the bedtime imposed by my parents, singing, talking, making up stories to occupy my busy mind.  And I recall my mom calling to me from the living room, as I do now to my daughter, asking me to be quiet and go to sleep.  Ironically, my mom does NOT recall this.  But I remember it like it was yesterday.  Or, maybe last year.  Since yesterday I was a carefree college student, skipping my 8AM classes in favor of my precious beauty sleep, staying up till all hours of the night, taking a midnight Denny’s run with my night owl roommate.

For most of my adult life, I kept up my night owl habits, although midnight became my usual bedtime as I had to function by 8AM in the morning.  But recently I have discovered the glorious hours of 5-7AM.  I actually discovered those hours a few years ago when I got in the habit of walking at 6AM with a good friend, but we fell out of our walking habit and I went back to sleeping till 7, when I have to wake my kids to get ready for school.

The problem with getting up at the same time as my kids is that I wake up groggy and grumpy and immediately have to be “on.”  I want to focus on coffee and email, and the kids need me to focus on getting them ready to meet the bus.  Invariably I would be rushing, they would be rushing, I would be yelling, and it was just. not. pretty.  And once I finally got them on the bus, I’d have a kitchen full of dirty dishes and be anxious to get on the computer and get a post up and see what gmail had waiting for me.  You can probably guess which I’d choose.  And forget about making time for devotions.

Since the beginning of this year, when I made the commitment to start getting up at 6:30 to have morning devotions, I discovered how delightful it is to be up before the kids.  It was hard in the winter when it was dark and cold at 6:30, but as spring has sprung, I’ve found myself getting up earlier and earlier because I want more and more of that time to myself before the house is awake.  It’s like an addiction now because I know how much I enjoy it, and I realize how much smoother my morning goes when I have time to get my affairs in order before the rugrats take over.  Now I’m setting my alarm for 5:15.

I KNOW.

Believe it or not, I actually find myself waking up before my alarm sounds, raring to start my day because I know I get to have coffee and devotions in peace.  While the coffee is brewing, I empty the dishwasher of last night’s dinner dishes, and then I have time to hop on the computer, check email, start a post, read a few blogs before it’s time to rouse the kids and pack lunches and make breakfast.  Because the dishwasher is empty, I can put their dishes right in, and I usually have the kitchen cleaned up by the time they go to the bus, or soon after.  Then I can get on the computer guilt-free, and I don’t have to face the kitchen later, which makes it that much easier to keep it tidy till dinnertime.

It’s amazing how getting a head start on the day has helped me keep up with the house and feel more in control of everything.

Of course, the flip side is that by 3PM, I am really tempted to make a pot of coffee to get myself through till bedtime.  And bedtime is 10PM at the latest; 9 is better.  And that is HARD because there isn’t much time to wind down in the evenings, and y’all know how I like my TV.  But overall, this is working out SO much better, I can’t even tell you.

And you now what?  I adore the quiet of the early morning, the dusky morning light, the sound of the birds singing outside my kitchen window while the coffee happily steeps in my French press.

And the best part is, I don’t miss this.

sunrise

Yep, I think I like being a morning person.  Who says a leopard can’t change its spots?

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23 Responses

  1. I love, love, love mornings! Always been a morning person. In grad school, friends would call at 10:30pm to ask questions about exams or assignments & of course I would be a sleep. They would ask, “What are you doing sleeping?!?” I always told them I would be glad to call them at 4:00am when I got up to study!

    My mornings always go better when I can get that time to myself too. Glad you’re finding the beauty in that time too. 🙂

  2. I am right there with you, except I became a morning person when I worked in corporate America and it has stuck. I am around 5 each morning whether I crash at 10 or 2am – and on the rare occaision that I wake “with” the girls my day is all but runied at that exact moment. I milk my moments before my shower to very last second, I pray noone walks in while I am showering and my best days are those when I am up, have done a lot, showered and then get to wake the girls up.

  3. Your schedule sounds a lot like mine. I HAVE to get up before the kids and have my ME time and coffee or Momma ain’t happy! LOL! It’s just not fair to the kids. LOL!
    But mine are home with me all day so sometimes I have to lock myself in my room for a little “quiet” time.

  4. I try to be both – but that’s not really working for me!

    I wake early and rarely now get back to sleep. If I can sneak downstairs without anyone waking, I love to potter around my kitchen, warm up my laptop, have a cup of tea etc before the house wakes – just me and the cat.

    However, come 10.30/11pm, just when I am heading to bed, I go to log off the laptop and find myself engrossed in blog reading etc, and the time flies by.

    So I love my early mornings, but I NEED to be more disciplined about getting to bed!

  5. You’re absolutely right on here. I wake up early too, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. It’s amazing the difference it makes in my day — without it I’m crabby, hectic, rushed and focused on the wrong things.

    The hardest part about it is going to bed earlier, because a lot of times after I get the kids to bed, I still have to clean the kitchen and straighten up the house. By the time I’m done, it’s pushing 9 or 9:30. Ideally, I try to be in bed at 10, but that doesn’t always happen.

  6. I am a natural night owl, but lately have been having the same experience as you. I still have trouble getting out of the bed, but once I’m up, the morning may be my favorite time of the day!

  7. I have always been a morning person, but now it’s even earlier. My problem is trying to be quiet so the kids don’t wake to early and invade my time!

  8. I keep trying to change my spots…it hasn’t worked yet LOL Maybe if my janitor job didn’t have me cleaning so late at night it would make a difference. I hate coming home from working and going straight to bed.

  9. I love the idea of getting up early, but my brain just can’t function if I don’t get 8 hours of sleep, at the very least. There’s nothing like my husband’s delicious Colombian coffee to get me going in the morning though, I love it!

    (No, I don’t have kids yet. And yes, the mere thought of losing sleep when I do have kids is a major concern. I’m a wuss.)

  10. I’m totally with you on this one. I never considered my self a true night owl or morning person, but the past year I’ve committed to getting up at 5:30 to have my quiet time and then exercise. If I do it any later I find too many excuses not to do those two important things and- like you said- I’m a grump trying to get everyone ready and out the door. It’s so nice being up and ready and refreshed before the kids wake up. It took a little while (and I’m still not jumping out of bed) to get in my groove, but now that I’m there I’m not looking back :).

  11. I have often thought our 15 month old was accidentally switched after birth at the hospital… because he is always up no later than 6:30am and I’m not a morning person and my husband is not a morning person. Oy. But, lately, I have been getting accustomed to getting up (someone has to!). It is somewhat enjoyable most mornings I will admit. It’s nice to have breakfast as a family before the hubby goes to work to make the lettuce 🙂

  12. 5:15? Wha??? Kidding. 🙂 I’m so glad for you! I’m still working on this goal myself – and it’s a LONG process! I’m such a night owl!!

  13. This is just what I need to read this afternoon. I soo love my sleep and I am a night owl, too. Not a great combination with my middle daughte, who is an earlier riser. Now with school fast approaching completion, your post as motivated my to awake before my girls this summer.

  14. I am just the same!! I couldn’t agree more! Crazy night owl college student turned early-rising Mama 🙂

  15. I so wish I could become a morning person! I would really like to see a sunrise every now and then. Maybe one of these days…

  16. This is my life too.

    I still don’t like going to bed at 9 p.m…though, after a mentally challenging day at work, it might be 8 or 8:30. Insane, ain’t it!

    Getting up at 5 a.m., enjoying the peace & quiet, waking up slowly with coffee in hand and laptop, on well, my lap, as I recline in my chaise….that is worth the early bedtime.

    Welcome to the flip side. 🙂

  17. I’m definitely a morning person, always have been. I don’t get up early enough to have coffee or for a devotional time, but I am able to get myself up and dressed before it’s time to wake the children. Like you, I have one child who is most definitely NOT a morning person, and one who, at the very least, can carry on a conversation first thing whether she really wants to or not.

  18. I too am a morning person! But can also be a night person. I too love to get up in the morning and have my coffee and “me” time before everyone wakes up.

  19. It is my most favorite time of the day and it always has been. I have been getting up at 5:30 AM for as long as I can remember and it doesn’t matter if it is during the week or the weekend. And I treasure those moments before the hussle of the day starts for the exact same reasons you do. Congrats on being a convert.

  20. Can I just say how much I love this post?

    Since I’ve had my fourth child (our only daughter) I am finding myself deeper and deeper everyday in a seemingly never ending hole. I ‘do’ things all day long, yet my list of accomplished things keeps growing! I can’t seem to find time to get the necessities done–and devotions, shamefully, have fallen by the wayside in the last month. I, too, am a big night owl…but I just may have to try a 6 a.m. rise. The thought of the quiet house in the morning is simply calling my name!

  21. I would love, love, love to have that morning time to myself. I am a morning person and wake up around 5 am. Unfortunately, so are my kids. They run in my room around 5 am wanting breakfast and to play. I just can’t see myself getting up any earlier. 🙂

  22. Ooooh Can you teach me to become a morning person? I’ve tried this but it seems like when I wake up early I just wake the kids up. It’s like they have some type of internal alarm that goes off the minute they hear me step out of bed.

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