Sleepy Head

Lately, I've had this thing called a bedtime. It really is a pretty wonderful thing. I feel bad for ever judging bedtime and thinking it was a rotten idea. You see, sleep and I have always just had a rocky relationship.

Some people are night owls. Others are early birds.

I grew up being neither.

When I was a little girl, I never slept. When I got old enough to walk around and think for myself, I would sneak out of bed and go play inside the toy closet. I never got caught. Then I started teaching Jace my ways when he got old enough. He was not so sneaky and played with a toy that made noise. Mom caught him.

When I was in grade school, we read the BFG (Big Friendly Giant) by Roald Dahl. I remember the giant saying something along the lines of humans slept half their lives away. Giants didn't waste their time sleeping. I firmly agreed with the BFG and began wondering if maybe I was half giant, which would explain my lack of needing sleep.

In high school, I would wander the house at two or three in the morning, then wake up at quarter to seven to get ready for school. My mom would ask me what time I went to bed and comment on how she heard me wandering around. She would then look at me with worry and ask if I was tired. But I never was. I was wide awake and ready for the day. Then I would go to a full day of school, and afterwards have a sport practice of some kind, sometimes along with student council responsibilities or choir related happenings on top of it. Never did I get tired though. When we had morning practices for volleyball or basketball, my friends would want to kill me for being in such a good mood at such an early hour.

If I get too much sleep, I am usually a grouch. Six to seven hours does me wonders. I think I must fall into a deeper sleep, allowing my body and brain to get rested much quicker than the average person. I think I'm cool with that.

Now that I have reached college, I have learned to appreciate sleeping a little more. I don't love it, but it's something I take the time to do now. When I don't get some sleep, I find myself wanting a nap (something I never did before). This semester I made the decision that I would try to be in bed by midnight. I have done a pretty good job. A few nights, I have even been in my covers by 10 or 11. Then, almost every morning, I go to the gym at seven. This bedtime thing is turning me into an early bird. By the time I reach the age of being a real adult (adults like to sleep) I will most likely have transformed into an early bird. Which I am great with. You would be amazed with how much you can get done in one day, if you wake up early and get your day going. Let's get real, most the people that stay up way late are not doing anything useful any ways. They are probably on facebook or watching movies. Really they should just go to bed. Then maybe they could get out of bed before noon.