I'm an early riser. I've always been that way to some degree. It's just how I'm programmed. As a child, at sleepovers, no matter how late we all stayed up at night, I was always the first to rise. Always. And I rose early. And my friends all slept in late. Very Late. I'd find ways to keep myself busy, reading books and such, but it would get boring being up so early and waiting hours on end for my friends to wake up. In boarding school, a fellow dorm mate was always up when I was. We'd have coffee and watch telly in the common area on the weekends until the rest of the girls joined us. In college, we kept coffeemakers in our rooms... I could have my coffee in bed before stumbling across campus with my friends to the dining area. Once I graduated and was living on my own I didn't mind the early mornings so much. I liked the quiet time before my roommates surfaced. Then I married and had babies and early mornings were no longer magical and peaceful - as any new mother can attest. Having been up half the night with my three angelic devils I was no more ready to face the day at dark than I was wanting a root canal. And then the children grew older and they started to sleep in and the mornings were once again my own - to own.
For many years now I've been in the habit of rising in the dark, plodding to the kitchen to make myself a cappuccino and then settling onto the couch with my coffee, a blanket and the TV. Slowly I could see the world outside brighten. And then the children began to rise (unless I had to shake them out of their beds to get to school on time!). During the week - especially during the week! - I need my quiet morning time and now I consider my inability to sleep in more of a blessing than a curse.
A year and a half ago, after a very long, exhausting and emotional divorce I walked away from my large home and most everything in it for a chance of a fresh start. I found a tiny house (and I do mean tiny!) on top of a hill that overlooks the town below (until the trees are in full bloom) and the Long Island Sound in the distance.
There are times (many) when I think our home is too small. We're always on top of one another and there's really no place to escape to. There are days I'm torn, I'd love to move - to give us a little more elbow room, to give us each a little more privacy and quiet space to work, but rents here, in this particular part of town are steeper than steep - You'd be shocked, most are. I could move elsewhere and pay less but then I'd be giving up an amazing school system and then I'd have to uproot the children again. Life is all about making choices and the need to make choices never really stops because our lives are always changing. If life remained a constant I'd be terribly bored!
Jessica