I am NOT a morning person.

So all of you morning people out there, you might not want to read this post. I will give you a little background of why I am writing this. When G.J. and I won that contest, I won 3 months free at Curves. My good friend Mandy works out there every morning at 6, so I figured what better way to get into shape, wake up and get my day going, and best of all, hang out with Mandy. Well that leads me to explain how much I HATE waking up early.
I think it is genetics. My Grandparents, my mom, and my brothers and I have always had sleep issues. It is terrible. I have the hardest time falling asleep. No matter how hard I worked during the day, or how physically, emotionally, or mentally tired I am, my body does not shut off until 11-12 p.m. I wake up several times a night to either go to the bathroom, or from a weird dream. I finally seem to get into a good sleep rhythm about 4 a.m. and then have the best sleep thereon until I wake up. My ideal wakeup time is between 8 and 9 a.m. Further than that, I have a strange problem. If I have to wake up to an alarm, I have really bad anxiety. I wake up on the hour every hour and think….oh no, I slept in. After that, I am constantly checking the clock thinking, “3 more hours, 2 more hours, 30 more minutes, etc.” So I never really fall into a deep sleep.
When I was in High School and on drill team, we had to be there at 6 a.m. every morning and even Saturdays for like 10 months out of the year. After doing that for 2 years, you would think I would have gotten used to it. NOPE, never did, not even one day did it feel “good” or “refreshing” to wake up that early. I was always sick and exhausted from lack of sleep.
As I have had kids, I have determined that the amount of sleep I get really determines how my day goes, as it does for a lot of people. We have gotten it down to a schedule here at our house, and my sweet husband is so kind to help me with it. It goes a little something like this. Mondays I get to sleep in. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays I wake up at 7:20 and get Hallie off to school. Then I take Gavin to school at 8:30. Fridays I sleep in. On Saturdays and Sundays I get to have my “big sleep in” and wake up at like 9 usually. G.J. loves to make big breakfasts, so he wakes up usually around 8:30 or so and watches cartoons with the kids and then makes breakfast and wakes me up. If he were waking up any earlier, I would feel very guilty. You would be amazed at how good I feel to get that extra little amount of sleep.
So to all the people who naturally wake up before 7 a.m.-good for you. I wish I could do that. They probably would read this and think I am such a lazy brat. I really wish I didn’t have the sleep issues that I do. I have even tried some high powered sleeping pills to no avail, they just don’t work. Thank you G.J for being so kind to me. He is so sweet to do Hallie’s hair on Monday’s and Friday’s for school. I bathe her at night and do something cute with her hair and set out her clothes. All he has to do is get her up and dressed and smooth her hair over. I must say he can whip out a great pony tail! Thanks for letting me get some rest on the weekends. And to Mandy, I am so sorry that I won’t be able to join you as often at Curves in the mornings. Maybe by some miracle I might wake up around that time and come. I really enjoy being with you and chatting and sweating! They are open until 7 p.m., so I think that I am going to try to go after G.J. comes home from work and after I feed my family dinner. That way my free membership won’t be going to waste. According to their charts, I have 8 lbs to lose to be at the perfect weight/BMI for my height. So I hope I can achieve that in 3 months and not have to wake up early. Oh yeah, before I forget, if you ever call my house before 8 a.m., don't expect me to be very nice or coherent!!! LOL :)
So you will notice the picture at the top of my post. It is a sand hill crane. You are thinking what the heck does that huge bird have to do with my sleep issues??? Well it has nothing to do with it. I was driving Gavin to school yesterday and I saw a whole flock of them flying. IF you haven’t had the chance to see or hear these birds, you are missing out. They are magnificent, and they are my favorite bird. They always fly in groups, rarely landing, and make the coolest sound. Best of all, they are a sign that spring is surely on its way!!! The snow is melting and the temperature is above 30 degrees, so we have hope! Have a good day, and sweet dreams to me and all of you!