A Single Middle-Aged Woman...

I meant to write this two days ago, on Saturday.  I let other things distract me. Anyway, I'm like a backsliding Christian what with the way I let summer lull me into a habit of rising with the sun well over the horizon and staying up until midnight...it is after all, my natural rhythm, but still...that's what I'm trying to overcome. As I wrote that last sentence, I thought to myself, what if I had a job that would allow me to start my work hours at 10 a.m.?  I could stay true to my natural rhythm.   Don't get me wrong, I love my job because I love what I do...I support others, solve minor problems, and have a different schedule every day as I have the freedom to set it...but what if? An audiobook I'm listening to,  "You Are a Badass..." by Jen Cincero , encourages her readers to go ahead and dream those "what if" dreams, to put forth that positive energy and have faith, even if you don't know how you're going to make it happen, it

I've allowed my schedule to shift over the summer from a 10 p.m. bedtime and 5:30 a.m. wake up to 12 a.m. to 7:30...no bueno now with the impending start of another school year. Today, I attend a professional development class so I made myself go to bed around 10 p.m. and set the alarm for 5:30 a.m. I hit snooze. At least I hit stop after the first round.  I was freezing so I stayed snuggled under the comforter a few more minutes before making myself sit up.  I actually put on my robe and slippers, that's how chilled I was.  A sign I've not had enough rest.  That's something I've learned over the years by paying attention to what my body is telling me...I get cold easier when I'm not well rested. Plus, I didn't sleep well because my brain was worried I'd sleep through my alarm and be late for class. It was hard getting up...not excruciating, but harder than it was in May before school let out.  Now, with hot coffee in hand, Hallelujah radio playi

Well, my 5:30 a.m. rise time has gone by the wayside!  Oh, I woke up this morning at 5:30; could have gotten up as I ''felt" rested but decided to roll over and give myself more sleep time.  I'd gone to bed late, as I've done for the last two weeks since my daughter returned home.  I don't know why her presence is a factor, but it is.  I'll have to explore that but for now, suffice it to say, my routine is wavering.  Oh the desire is still there, but I rationalize and make excuses for sleeping in.  It's a darn shame to because now I have a headache.  That happens to me sometimes when I let myself go back to sleep.  It's hardly worth it. I've noticed that when I'm making plans, like I did with a friend for this weekend, I don't dread it when they want to do something early because I know I will have been awake and ready to socialize by the time they want to go anywhere.  In fact, yesterday I was slated to help a neighbor with computer is

I did it!  I woke at 4:30 a.m.  It wasn't enough sleep because I didn't go to bed until 10:30 last night but I woke feeling rested and awake, so I got up.  I have much I want to do today before the fireworks tonight.  That's assuming we can see them from the neighborhood.  My eldest, who lives with me at the moment, came home on Tuesday evening from a month-long job in Dallas with a stomach bug.  So, I do what I do as a mother and nurse her, in between household projects, which I keep piling up on my to-do list!  Hopefully, she's well enough to go outside this evening and explore.  We were going to go to Kerrville to see Robert Earl Keen, but I think that's a bit much considering how badly she felt yesterday.  Poor kid, she really wanted to go, too. First on my list today is a visit to the hardware store to buy two 2x4's to go with the 1x2's I bought yesterday to make a full-size bed frame to lay on top of the storage boxes that will act as a platform.  I

I feel as though I'm sloughing off.  But, is it really sloughing off if I'm rising around 6:45-7:30 on summer vacation days?  I mean seriously?  Ugh, my gut says yes, I'm only rationalizing.  Still, I would not have gotten up this early any other summer vacation in previous years unless I had a plane or train to catch.  Egads, last July I was up at 4 a.m. catching a train to Seattle.  Wow, maybe one day I will blog about that trip. I'm getting SO much done to the house this summer and I credit that to getting up early.  I work long, long days, sometimes not eating dinner until after 8 p.m., which naturally puts me late to bed and thus late to rise, well later than 5:30.  So, I'll make a deal with myself.  I've one more big project to complete...the spare room!  I've saved be best/worst for last.  Once that's complete, I'll revert to rising in the dark again.  We've such a short summer vacation this year, and though I've loads of desk work

Back from vacation.  I woke up early, not 5 a.m. early, but before 8 a.m. almost every day while visiting my sister last week. I felt so... productive .  When I get up early, I feel so much more productive; probably because I am! :) Plus, with the summer months and going outside to work in the yard, or do fun things, it's so much cooler. I have a ton of summer projects to complete, so I'm going to make good use of early rising to get them done before 2 p.m. so I don't pass out from heat exhaustion. So, I'm how many weeks into this adventure, six or so? It's starting to feel natural...you know, to wake early, to desire  to wake early, and to go to bed early so I can wake early. Last night, around 10:30 or so, a friend of mine brought over some furniture she was selling to me, and my sister, but now not my sister because I'm keeping the hutch...tee hee, it matches my dining table perfectly.  Another story for another time, but I had driven back fro