Not a morning person: A Cautionary Tale
I have an evil twin.
Unfortunately for me, her name is also Christa. She sometimes rules the mornings in my life.
I tried to lose her but she found me every time.
Mornings. Ugh.
The glory of a sunrise as it casts its first golden rays on the horizon, the sounds of spring outside the window as birds greet the day, a joyful heart…
Hold up! Those are wonderful things, and I try oh so hard to appreciate them. I do. The problem lies in the time slot this all is set to happen.
I’d like mornings so much better if they started later.
I have been participating in a group challenge to get up earlier for 30 days, developing the awesome habit of a more effective life. The principles are excellent.
Today I am wondering if perhaps some habits are not worth creating. Not for all people.
Night owl vs. morning person
I am a night owl.
That is when my senses are in full swing, my creativity peaks; the quietness while my family sleeps fills me with gratitude and delight. Serious joy in my heart. I have been unsuccessful in transferring that to daybreak.
Today, for example, I woke up at 3:30 and desperately tried to go back to sleep. Gave up at 5:30 and thought I’d greet the morning with quiet time and productivity.
Instead, (I who love birds and delight in their songs) am harboring murderous thoughts about each and every morning singer out there.
If I had an alarm clock named Fred (as suggested in the challenge), I would go open the door, place it behind my tire and back over it. Twice.
Forget reading, it doesn’t work with blurry eyes
I decided to take my morning walk and cruelly stepped over the struggling worms on the sidewalk. Regular me actually stops to gently put them back on the grass, with pity in my heart.
Not today.
And the song that keeps playing in my head? Argh. It was in the movie Joyful Noise which I watched last week. “I’m in love with a stripper….” I am in love, not with a stripper and I resent the intrusion into my musical thought life.
Plus I’m in women’s ministry.
To my shame, my evil twin is well-known by anyone who has spent a very early morning with me.
Pray for my poor family
My parents had the delight of 17 years of mornings. They would tell you I seldom jumped out of bed with a.m. anticipation.
My husband has had 25 years to develop a fear of the “other” Christa.
He told me a story once (I can’t believe I am sharing this, but I am hoping to free the others) about forgetting a pair of socks for work as he went down to breakfast. He was afraid to come back for them.
I laughed, nervously, waiting for the punch line.
“Christa,” he said, “you are the kindest most loving person in the world. Until you get woken up in the dark. Then your head, I am pretty sure, starts spinning like the exorcist and I debate if the socks are worth it.”
Um, sorry? I never even remember these exchanges! But we do laugh a lot. Maybe that makes up for my early morning temperament?
My kids tell me they stay clear of me with a 10-mile radius when I get too little sleep. Friends that call before nine, well, sometimes that twin of mine isn’t good at faking a sweet disposition.
In spite of all this, I am much-loved. Go figure.
Why must productivity come in the morning?
I might have to quit my group. Now I dislike mornings AND challenges.
I feel fraudulent. I love life, living is an amazing gift. I do prefer to live from 9 am to 1 am though, if I had my druther.
No shame, habits, lectures, guilt or even prayer thus far have made me a morning person.
But nights, oh, the delight!
So I wonder, just because we can develop new habits, does it mean we should?
**No one was harmed in the actual making of this morning
Morning helps
- Disclosure: I only recommend products I do/would use myself. These affiliate links add NO additional cost to you, and may earn me a tiny commission to help support this blog. Read full privacy policy here.
