4/25/10

Rise and Whine

Being awake at 6:30 a.m. on a Sunday is just plain WRONG. You feel like you’re the only person in the world who’s up at that hour. Out the window, you see not a soul or a single car pass by. You wonder whether the neighbors would notice if you “borrowed” their newspaper and returned it after you’ve read it. Probably not. They don’t have kids, so they’ll be asleep for HOURS yet. Lucky bastards.

The upside of getting up at an ungodly hour is that it makes the weekend seem much, MUCH longer. Yesterday, for instance, we had all eaten breakfast, played, watched some TV, and cleaned the whole house from top to bottom by 10:30 a.m. That left us plenty of time to go on a picnic, take naps, do the grocery shopping, and make dinner. (Heck, with that much time we probably also could have road-tripped to Niagara Falls, run a marathon, and completed a 2,000-piece puzzle.)

While I am SO not a morning person it’s not even funny, both my kids are. Ironic, huh? In fact, it’s their best time of day. Fueled by a full-night’s sleep and some Cheerios, they’re off and running. Also, shrieking, giggling, climbing on furniture, upending the toy box, and riding on the dog. They’re like little energy vampires in dinosaur pajamas, those two.

Hubs and I trade off on who gets to sleep in on weekends. Saturdays, he gets up with them; Sundays, I do. The supreme injustice is when the kids inexplicably decide to sleep until 7:30 on your morning to stay in bed. No fair! If your spouse isn’t forced to suffer those pre-dawn hours, it’s just not as satisfying.

Although “sleeping in” is a bit of a misnomer. First of all, C. usually leaves our bedroom door open, meaning all the shrieks, squawks, and squabbles travel right up the stairs to my tender ears. Thanks, guys.

You would not BELIEVE how loud my children are unless you heard it yourself. Sometimes it sounds like a rugby scrum in the kitchen. Sometimes it sounds like a bowling alley. Sometimes it sounds like cats in heat clog-dancing on a tile floor covered with broken plates. And sometimes it sounds like a whole lot of screaming and crying.

Any way you slice it, it’s LOUD. And not at all conducive to a leisurely lie-in. (Isn’t that what the British call it? Love that. Much nicer than the French “faire la grasse matinee,” which translates literally to “make a fat morning.” Gross.) Oh, well, sleeping in is overrated.

... Right. And so is being rich, thin, and married to David Beckham.

LINK O’ THE WEEK: Maybe this article will convince you: “10 Benefits of Rising Early, and How to Do It

5 comments:

Caitlin said...

Oh I could have written this post along with you this morning! My hubby tends to leave the door open when he "takes baby duty" at night. Although I can't get back to sleep if the little one is shrieking for a bottle the same he seems to be able to. And don't worry, I was up at 6:30 right along with you this morning!

HarmSkills said...

my sons been up since 4... and he NEVER EVER sleeps past 530, so we take turns getting up within the same morning!!!!!! i would probably die if I slept till 730

Deanna Schrayer said...

Been there, done that...and am so glad those days are long past, most of the time anyway. I hear you loud and clear! My sons are 11 and almost 13 now, so I'm lucky in that [at least the older one] sleeps in nowadays. The youngest is a health nut and insists on getting up at his regular time every morning, weekend or not, so he's up no later than 6:30, and he's got to be the loudest tween on earth! Fortunately I have one of those "sound machine thingies" that we turn on to ocean waves at bedtime, and we keep our door closed so that drowns out his racket pretty well.
Unfortunately, since my fibromyalgia and pre-menopausal hormones have kicked in, it doesn't matter if the boys are sleeping or not. Saturday night I was up until 4 Sunday morning - I just could not go to sleep because of the pain in my legs. I finally got to sleep and didn't get up until 11 but it was not a restful sleep. I was completely worthless all day Sunday.
And here I am up early on Monday morning again - I've been up since 4.
So, sorry to tell you this, but you'll most likely only have a couple of years of weekend sleep-ins before the hormones replace the loud kids.
Great fun post though. :) Good luck to you - I hope the little "angels" sleep until 8 for you next weekend!

Sarah said...

I swear our boys use the blogs to communicate behind our backs! :) Graham was up at 6:15 Saturday and Sunday. We had gone to Panera for breakfast, done the grocery shopping, and put everything away by 8:15 a.m. yesterday. I guess looking on the bright side we do have a lot more time to be productive and enjoy each day. That being said, we tell each other we are so lame when we are yawning and going to bed at 10:15 p.m. on the weekend. Lame but still lucky to have our little man. P.S. love the pic. does Riley actually keep his glasses on?!

Mom2Miles said...

Thanks for commiserating, ladies! I hear talk of all these kids who sleep past 8 a.m. and it just seems like an urban legend to me.

Sarah, I don't feel lame at all for going to bed at 10 even on weekends! I don't miss staying out late... now that I have an eternal early wake-up call! And no, Riley, does not keep the sunglasses, or hats, on for more than 2 seconds.

Related Posts with Thumbnails