Morning in the neighborhood at the normal time I walk.
This week, I’m driving my husband to work because he’s recently had shoulder surgery and has not been cleared by his doctor to drive. I am not complaining and have no problem with this at all. I enjoy the 30-minute drive with him to his office. The problem is that his alarm goes off at 3:45 am. Yes, before 4 o’clock in the morning.
Of course, his alarm has gone off at that exact time for years. However, I had mastered the art of putting a pillow over my head, rolling over and ignoring it and the noise he makes getting ready for work. I managed to sleep until the late hour of 6:30 a.m. and sometimes even 7 a.m.
This week, I have said to him, “Wake me up at the last minute before you’re ready to go and I’ll be ready to drive in a few seconds.”
However, knowing that I’ll be leaving the comfort of my bed in the dark, isn’t conducive to falling back to sleep. Instead, after failing to return to my dreams, I give up. I’d rather drive showered, with clean teeth and a freshly washed face than stinky.
The end result is that I’ve been in kind of fog this week. I get back home ready to start my day, but within a few hours, I’m really, really tired. Yesterday I fell asleep at 5 p.m. I sat down to read and nodded right out. It was only a brief nap, but I’ve never been able to nap well before.
Today was much easier to get up and so far I have more energy. Maybe I’ll get used to this new early riser schedule. I wonder how many days it takes to change your internal clock? It makes me think about how tough it is for most kids at the start of a new school year. That’s another reason why we appreciated swimming. Although our children’s summer schedule was not as early as during the school year, they were used to getting to the pool by 7 a.m. all summer long. It wasn’t a stretch to transition back to the school schedule.
I’ve always liked the morning, just not the hours before 5 a.m. But after all, the early bird gets the worm. I can do this! Maybe I’ll be more productive with my work by getting an earlier start. Or, I could swim at 5:30 a.m. Masters like it’s no big deal.
Sunrise
What time do you get up in the morning? How long has it taken you to get adjusted to a new schedule?
Im glad he is well and at work. He’s lucky to have you drive him.
It is tiring…. I’m up at 4.30, leave home at 6, return at 5.30. Traffic is awful and I’m drained too.
My delightful son has chalked it down to age.
Wow! That’s a tough schedule. I really admire you for your strength and stamina. Your son sounds fun, too!
Yes, he’s a delight. Gemini. Drives me crazy but he is a special young man.
Enjoy him while he’s home! They grow up and leave so quickly.
I am glad you are enjoying your time together! I hope your husband feels better soon. I am reaching the beginning of the end of my commute days with my son. We go to 0 period for his jazz band class, and we leave at 6:45 (I am a teacher there as well). I found it ironic that he had to leave at 6:35 for summer workouts. I don’t complain about that horrible early hour though since he may start driving himself before the end of this semester. Enjoying every minute of of our commute while I still have it!!
I agree to enjoy every minute driving together. It seemed like endless years when I had kids in the backseat, and then all of a sudden one big enough to ride up front with me. These days while I’m driving, I notice how empty and lonely my car is. Especially driving past their former schools and the swim centers.