NIGHT OWLS

Collin and I are the worst night owls! I'm not kidding. It's funny because as I was growing up I was forced to go to bed by like 6:00pm until I was in high school! (Just kidding Mom!) But really, I don't know why, but I have no problemo with staying up soooo late. It's actually worse when Collin is out of town, which happens quite often during wrestling season. I never seem to go to bed until at least 3 am. I just get working on stuff and don't stop. Is this the demise of the ultimate procrastinator? I put things off so much that I work late into the night? I don't know. I don't really think so, because I really am pretty good at getting stuff done during the day as well. For some reason I can just fly through stuff and do a good job on it the later it gets. Most of my best young womens lessons and singing times were planned after 10pm, and that seems to be when I am at my finest working on crafts or scrapbooking or whatever. I have been known to clean the bathrooms at 10 or 11pm. It's just how I roll. And now with having a baby, which means sometimes that's the only free time I get all day, it's even worse! And add to that being the only time Collin and I get to spend together alone all day, that also multiplies the problem! Even if we're not necessarily "doing" anything, you name the show and we end up staying up and watching it. Or just talking about whatever random thing we end up getting into a discussion about.... (usually something involving one of our jobs that gets us all heated and angry... ha ha!) but I digress....

This might not sound like such a bad thing. I mean, I think it's better to have a really good productive time of day, whatever time it is, rather than no productive time at all, right? Well it's more complicated than that. This year Collin HAS to be at school by 7:15. (That has typically been when he has left the house in previous years). It's a new part of their contract to have "office hours" before school starts. Of course this makes me want to leave a bag of flaming poop on the superintendent's doorstep, but enough about that. So that means.... leaving at 7:00, which means getting up by 6:30. And in this marriage we decided from the get go that we would be a couple who goes to bed together. This, as you can see, is unfortunate because the habit we have been in over the summer has been getting to bed about midnight and getting up around 8:30 or 9:00. BOO! Another reason I wish it was summer all year long. Oh well. So, not only am I a night owl, but I am also VERY unhappy if I don't get enough sleep. It may seem like an oxymoron but it's not. Ask my mom. I think I wasn't allowed to go to sleepovers most of my childhood for that very reason (not kidding this time, Mom!).

So, due to the difficult situation of liking to stay up late, hating to get up early, but having to get up early, we will now be learning to like to go to bed early. And while I'm not committing to becoming a morning person (even if I started to, I have such a hatred for them I would deny it purely on principle..... sorry those of you morning people out there, don't take it personal. Unless it's before 9 am.), I am at least going to try to get us to bed earlier, so we won't be in complete misery when that alarm goes off at 6:30. The question is, how to do it? It's harder than it seems! I can't count the number of times around 9:00pm one of us will say "ok, let's try to be in bed by 10:30." And when midnigh rolls around and we are finally getting into bed, we will say "oh well...." and that's what it is! We have tried making bets where whoever wasn't on the bed, ready, at the said time, owed the other something..... we have tried punishment for the last person in bed (like, having to make breakfast the next morning) ...... we have tried "making a firm committment" (hahaha)..... that all sounds stupid but it's true! So tonight (LATE tonight---no school tomorrow, remember!) we will be brainstorming on how we can possibly kick ourselves in the rear to get used to living like so many people out there already do..... any suggestions are MORE than welcome!