A Single Middle-Aged Woman...

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...

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 loa...