I’ve never been a morning person.
The whine of my alarm clock might as well be a bullhorn. I wake up with dark smudges of yesterday’s makeup beneath my eyes, my hair a snarled mass of curls. I’m creaky and slow to start. I drag my feet and lounge beneath the covers as long as possible, cracking open an eye only when the idea of being late for work becomes dangerously close to reality. I’m perpetually tired — rundown, even — and down Diet Coke to get me to lunchtime. At night, my lovely white noise machine (or app on my iPhone when away from home) blissfully allows me to get my seven hours of shut eye.
So why am I so bent on getting up early these days?
Between the sunrise trip to a local lighthouse and the fact that I’m actually waking before my alarm goes off s0me mornings, I feel like a strange caricature of my normal self. Part of it is that I’m getting over a cold, I think; no one seems to be on a normal sleep schedule when they’re sick.
It’s more than that, though. In the never-ending quest to find more hours in our days, I’m finding the early mornings to be . . . refreshing. Getting out of the house early last week, I stopped for coffee and breakfast at Panera while I read a little more of Aine Greaney’s Dance Lessons (which is lovely, by the way). And I still got to work early — even with my detour. My quiet little moment for me.
Not hitting the snooze button four times, pouring myself into the shower and scrambling into some clothes before flying out the door is strange — and amazing. That’s not to say I don’t still value my beauty sleep (I do); I’m just starting to realize those lunatics who get up early on the weekends to photograph wildlife or run on the beach aren’t lunatics at all.
That scares me a little.
I mean, if I can be a morning person — and that’s still a leap, I’ll admit — maybe many of the indisputable facts I’ve gathered about myself aren’t so indisputable. Maybe I really do like lima beans. Perhaps my rendition of Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby” is on pitch. I could be an excellent pianist, an excellent swimmer, and yellow? Yellow could totally be my color. Complement my olive skintone.
Anything could be possible.
—-
Are you a morning person —
or more likely to punch a morning person?
At what time of day do you function best?
write meg! 
NOOOOOOO…anything but lima beans!
I’m a mid-day person. I get up early, but that’s only because I start work at 7. So I fade early. And I live with a morning person, which doesn’t help. So I’ve kinda been forced into being a morning person. But there’s no way I jump out of bed all bright eyed and bushy tailed.
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I used to be more of a “punch the crazy morning peeps” kind of girl, but I’ve taken a liking to getting up early – mostly because morning light; great photography! (yes, I’m one of those lunatics you mentioned!) But my body definitely starts working around noon. Before that, I’m on zombie mode!
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While I appreciate the morning, and I will force myself to get up early to photograph birds because that’s when the birds are active, I will never be a morning person. It’s just too painful for my mind and body to function before 10am. (And no to Lima beans, never!)
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I don’t like getting up early, but I do love mornings and how peaceful they seem. How early are you talking, though?? I have trouble getting out of the house. I end up sitting here forever checking e-mail and facebook (it’s been hours since I last checked! LOL) and commenting on blogs.
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I teach high school, so sleeping in for me is 7:00, 7:30. I’m usually in the car by 6:00 and at work by 6:30. I don’t really like that part of the job. I never considered myself to be a morning person, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve discovered that I’m actually pretty productive first thing in the morning. I’m on vacation this week, and slept in until 8:00 this morning! Fantastic! I like the way the sun comes through the kitchen windows, and the smell of coffee brewing. I’m also becoming a morning person as the years go by!
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It’s strange, but it seems the older you get, the earlier you wake up. 8:00 is big time sleeping in for us now.
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I am a night person who wishes desperately to be a morning person because the mornings are so much more peaceful. I have tried to make myself a morning person. It’s not working. I still want to punch people and I cry and whine every time the alarm goes off.
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I’ve never considered myself a morning person, but as I have to get up earlyish six days a week (6:30 M-F for work and 7:30 Sundays for church) I’ve found myself sort of getting used to it. On Saturdays or other days off when I do sleep in, I’m actually grumpier the rest of the day compared to when I get up earlier. Isn’t that weird? I think it’s just one of those things that evolve throughout life.
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I’m totally a morning person; I feel at my most productive while most of the population is still rubbing the sleep out of its eyes; however, even as a morning person, I found myself running late for work because I would take up too many tasks to complete in the morning. As third-graderish as this may sound, I have begun fixing my coffee at night (auto-timer), fixing my lunch, and even picking out my clothes before I go to bed. My mornings run much smoother, and I feel less harassed, which makes for a more productive and relaxing day ahead! Good luck on your gradual transition!
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I’ve become more of a morning person with my ‘old age’ (I think I’m at least a few years older than you are.) Honestly, I think it’s less that than that I have to get up early five days a week with my current job. When I go on vacation, I easily revert to my night owl tendencies and struggle to get back into a rhythm. Ultimately, for me, it’s that I love sleep. Given the choice of going to bed early and getting sleep or staying up late only to get up early, I opt for the choice with more sleep.
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What a fun post today – I totally enjoyed it. 🙂 You’ve brave (on a Monday, no less!!) because I know how some people want to punch us. Yes, I’m a morning person. I love how much I can get done when nobody else is awake. I get up at 3:30 and 4:00 sometimes on weekdays to get in extra hours of productivity – but no, don’t groan yet, that’s pretty rough and I can’t do it several days in a row. But oh! to get my bike ride or yoga class in before dawn starts my day off so beautifully. As a cyclist in a big city especially, there is no time of day like 4am to have the streets to myself. I can’t really function in the evenings, so there’s a trade-off.
Congrats on your newfound ability and remember, you don’t have to be a morning person 7 days a week (or even 5) – the more you do wake up early, the sweeter those late mornings get, too, in my opinion. 🙂 Keep up the good work.
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I can be a little bit of both, it just depends on the time of year and what’s going on in my life. Sometimes I am definitely a morning person, especially during the summer. There’s nothing I love more than a summer morning. I have to get up so early for work, though, I’m not so much a morning person these days! I love your banner and new (possibly to me! It’s been a while since I’ve been able to visit blogs) look. They’re lovely!
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I’m soo jealous. Waking up is the hardest part of my day. I just can’t ever get out of bed it’s such a process! I wish I could be one of those people that just bounces out of bed, goes for a run while taking pictures of the sunrise and reads the paper (blogs) while sipping coffee. People tell me that waking up early will come with age… so I’m still waiting for my high school like sleeping tendencies to go away!
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Yeah, not a morning person. My college roommate learned very quickly not to speak to me in the morning unless absolutely necessary until after I’d gotten a shower and had some time to wake up.
I have a fantastic t-shirt which reads, “Good morning is an oxymoron” with a sun with a frowny face on it.
My brain wakes up at night; I think it’s hereditary.
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I’ve always loved getting up early. F or years – college, law school, the ten tears following, I was a morning and night person. I seemed to have no problem getting up early but stayed up late most nights, too. Alas, I cannot keep up that pattern anymore and I’m back to being a morning person! I love getting up early and reading for a couple of hours!
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Coffee, bagel, and book definitely sound worthy of losing sleep 🙂
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Meg,
It’s so fun to learn that you are reading my novel, DANCE LESSONS with your coffee and bagels and your pre-work quiet time. I keep promising myself that I will do that, but never seem to get out of the house on time. . Not a morning person either. Never have been and probably never will. : – (
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I have just blogged about this very thing- but sort of the opposite- have a gander. I am new to blogging and have snooting around to see what other bloggers there are out there. Really enjoyed your post, LJK
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