Monday, July 16, 2012

Day 1 of Going To Bed/Waking Up: Total Fail

After I finished yesterday's post about alarm clock practice and going to bed on time, I knew I should turn off the computer and go to bed. But I also knew I should write a post for Lisa Loves Logan (about our local gallery walk), because I try to post every weekday there, too.

Writing a post always takes longer than I think it should/wish it would. It's the one reason I'm scared to ever return to a career as a writer, especially as a freelance writer -- I take so long to write things! I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment in this quote from writer Thomas Mann: "A writer is a person for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people." Ironic and oh so true.

The post about the Gallery Walk sparked an idea for a future post, and I set off into the wild jungle of the interwebs to research it a little. I was literally researching "labyrinths" (one of the local churches here has one), and became figuratively lost in one. Next thing I knew I emerged five hours later having learned a whole lot about labyrinths, the Minotaur, the etymology of the term Jacko (as in Wacko), the Wars of the Roses, the houses of Lancaster, Plantagenet, and Tudor, and the grisly execution of Lady Margaret Pole. Somewhere in there I also made my mortgage payment and looked up some info on local Pioneer Day celebrations.

I finally settled into bed at 3am. Before getting in bed I set my phone alarm for 7:15am, double-checked that it had been set properly, and put the phone on my bathroom vanity rather than on my nightstand, to increase the likelihood that I would really wake up. Anyone else use "tricks" like that? Force oneself to get out of bed by placing the alarm clock across the room?

I was awakened at 5am by the cries of my two-year-old, who needed a diaper change. He wouldn't settle back into his own bed and asked to join me in mine. I was too exhausted to fight him, but he was not at all exhausted himself, and stayed up for at least another hour getting in and out of bed and bringing me toys. I finally prepared a cup of warm milk for him and we both drifted off to sleep again.

Then the baby woke up, but she took her binkie and went back to sleep. In the end I didn't wake up until 9am, but I did get in the shower and get dressed before facing the day. I did accomplish several errands today and a few loads of laundry, so the day wasn't a total loss productivity-wise. It is now 9:27pm and I intend to turn in early tonight.

In short, all those words were to say, today was an early-to-bed-early-to-rise FAIL, but I'll try again and report back.

The toddler in question, albeit on another sleepy day.

2 comments:

  1. Hmmm; sounds like your internet wanderings go just about like mine do. One thing leads to another, which leads to another, which leads to another...

    Early to bed/early to rise is also a chronic FAIL for me, as I'm sure you know. I'm just not wired that way!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dang you Wikipedia!!!! Hyperlinks are the death of me (right-click, open in new tab, right-click, open in new tab, repeat, repeat).

      When I consider my inability to wake up in the a.m., I always think back to visiting Grandma Baker, and how she wouldn't emerge from her room until nearly noon. And when we were there, sometimes DAD would do the same thing! I think we come by this naturally. It's hard to fight nature!

      Delete