Friday, September 20, 2013

This week's 20%

At this point in my life, I think it's safe to say that I will never be a morning person.  Even after a decent night of sleep, I still have trouble rolling out of bed in the morning, especially if it's an early hour.  I prefer to run at night.  I feel more creative and productive at night.  I'm more awake at night - except when I'm exhausted.

When I was 28 years old, I was able to take four weeks off between jobs.  Having that time with zero responsibilities was incredibly awesome.  Because I didn't have anywhere to be in the morning, I began to stay awake later and later each night. Which meant I slept in later and later each morning.  I was going to bed around two or three in the morning and sleeping until noon.  I felt fantastic.  Needless to say, transitioning back to "normal" hours when I began my new job was extremely difficult.

I have about five and a half hours of "free" time when the girls are at school.  I'm only home one day a week but I still have these grand plans for that time.  Before the school year started, I imagined myself flying around like a superhero, crossing items off of my permanent to-do list.  I felt exhausted when I woke up this morning.  My eyes didn't want to open.  I dropped the girls off at school, returned home, ate a bowl of cereal and then decided to rest.  In bed.  With the curtains pulled shut.  It took about five minutes for me to fall asleep.  And sleep I did.  Until 11:35.  Needless to say, I didn't do anything on my list before I picked up the girls from school.  I actually didn't do anything at all, unless eating and putzing around constitute "doing something."  I'm trying to convince myself that that's okay.

Sometimes we need to recharge.  Sometimes we need to be unmotivated in order to become motivated. Sometimes we need a break.  And there's always tomorrow.



     


6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lady, you need the rest. You can't be expected to zoom and around and do everything 24/7 365!

Rebecca said...

Good for you. I am the same way - I'd love to go to bed at 2 or 3 and get up at noon. Now that I have two one-year-olds...not so much. I sometimes take a morning nap when they do, and I have to convince myself it's okay, especially when I want to be productive. Rest is so important, especially for parents, who are "on" all the time.

Margaret said...

This is so true! I'm glad you got a chance to rest. My kids go to Grandma's every Thursday and I'm supposed to get a bunch of online work done, but some weeks it's just best for me, my family, and even my productivity if I take a nap. :-) Everyone needs a rest day every so often!

Anonymous said...

I will sneak in a nap between preschool dropoff and pickup on the days when all of my kids are at school - this motherhood thing is completely and utterly exhausting - rest when you can!!!

Siné said...

Everyone needs a break every now and again. I am glad you were able to get one in.

Debbie said...

My body has always worked the same way. When it is summer time even when my kids were little. I just happened to be lucky that before they went to school they were late sleepers also. Then of course I had to be on "school time". When I don't have the grands in the summer, it is such a treet to go back to a sleep routine that works best for me...bed at 2 up at 10. One more reason why summer is my favorite season.