Mr. Sandman

When I was in my early 20s I recall hearing about varying sleep schedules by other adults. It was surprising to me that not everyone slept from 11 pm - 7 am. every night. But these people understood their bodies more and and found that they were most highly productive at unconventional times of the day. Their realization enabled them to adjust their schedules and sleeping patterns. For example, an accountant I knew got up every morning at 3:30 AM - YES, 3:30 AM. She got her best work in before 9:00. Another, my ob-gyn, stays up all sort so freaky-deaky hours at night getting work done, too, as the day wasn't always available and she found herself working beneficially at that time.

I am typing this at 5:52 am, having been up since 5:30 from the whine of a puppy. This is NOT my most productive time of the day. In fact, I found my ideal sleeping pattern over this Christmas vacation. For the first time ever, I was not tired all day, did not require a nap and was generally pleasant. Bedtime 11:30pm - wake time 9:00 am. That would be an astounding 10 hours of sleep. Adding to that, I had a nice 30 minute slumber with my morning cup, or 3, of coffee to really rev my engines.

My mom says that when I was younger, waking me up was extraordinarily difficult. I had a very rotten attitude and was pretty cantankerous. Thrust into the light before I am ready is loathsome. I think I see glimmers of this in my Ethan as he emits several groans when woken, but Sadie and Lily bound out of bed with some perkiness.

When I was in college, it was nothing to live on 5-6 hours of sleep. Staying up, snoozing late, running on empty is a rite of passage. Then, I graduated. I went abroad. I slept even more ridiculous hours as night life was well, the priority. And then, I was diagnosed with mono and I say to you, my body has never been the same. Exhaustion is my middle name and I can stay in bed sleeping...forever.

Sure, three kids don't help the constant nodding of my head. I have made doctor's appointments, just knowing that I had to have some sort of thyroid or iron condition that would give a medical reason for the fatigue. Nope. I even dabbled with thinking I was depressed. Not the case either. Just plain old weariness, I suppose.

Therefore, when I up at 5:30 in the morning, it does not bode well for my day. I think nap is in my future.