and early to rise…

i’ll leave it at that for now. maybe i’ll work on the ‘early to bed’ part after i master this one. ;)

i never thought it would happen, but i am about to sing the praises of getting up early. yes, me.

things change when you have 3 kids and you homeschool and you have a house you have to take care of and sanity to keep track of. one of the things i’ve discovered lately is that, although sleeping in is wonderful, life REALLY sucks when i do. i’ve also learned that it sucks significantly less if i get up early. who knew? i used to be really good about it, but somewhere along the line, i got discouraged and quit. i quit trying to make it out of bed before my kids, and somehow or other quit accomplishing the things i need to accomplish during the day. i then quit feeling good about myself, my responsibilities, my choices…

let’s compare yesterday and today, for an example.

yesterday, micah, layla and i (miraculously) woke up at 9am. wow! so much sleep! upon waking, i’m groggy and grumpy, focused only on finding the coffeepot as quickly as possible. shane, who got up an hour and a half earlier, has completed a significant portion of his school work and is clamoring for me to help him with the rest of it so he can finish and get out the door. not that i’m criticizing his initiative in DOING the work, but when i opened his books, i discovered several things that had to be done over, which made him mad. i then direct him toward his chores and breakfast, which he balks at and complains about having to do. while he does this, i stare mindlessly at the computer.  somewhere around 11, it occurs to me that layla and micah should get dressed, i manage a shower for myself, and get lunch for the kids, feeling shaky and nauseous because i’ve got nothing but coffee in me. around 1:45 shane and i finally finish his school work and he eventually leaves for his class, at which point, i take the others to costco. around 4:45pm, i’m trying to cook dinner, but the kitchen’s a mess because i’ve not unloaded the dishwasher yet, so i have to do that before i can cook. after that, kids in the bath and to bed. i’d love to just hang w/ my sweetie and finish watching the previous night’s episode of biggest loser, followed by actually going to bed together at the same time, but i haven’t done my workout yet. let me also point out that my house hasn’t been cleaned or dusted since christmas, i have a rack full of clothes to be ironed, floors that i’m starting to stick to, and MESS everywhere. why haven’t i done these things? laziness, lack of motivation, feeling like there’s not enough hours in the day? and, my bible reading habit that i was so pleased about has gone straight out the window lately.

so i decided last night, after finally completing my workout and making my way to bed at 11:30, long after dave was in bed and asleep, that i needed to get up early. so i set my alarm for 5:55am and prayed that whichever kid wandered into my bed during the night would allow me to get out of bed in the morning without waking up.

so i did it! i got up, i did my workout, read my bible and drank some coffee. while i was finishing this, shane got up and started his schoolwork, which he was able to ask me a few questions about when he needed to, micah got up and snuggled up in my lap while i finished my reading. i got them dressed, had a shower, got dressed, MADE shane do his chores, ate a bowl of oatmeal, made the beds, helped shane finish his schoolwork, and ironed 5 skirts, 1 dress, and 10 dress shirts (of varying sizes). it’s 11:37.

i don’t know what it is, but the later i sleep, the less energy i seem to have. i set myself up for a day of ZERO productivity, which, in turn, sets me up for feeling crappy about myself, and thus being grouchy and mean to everyone i live with.

so the next time i’m complaining about how much life sucks and how overwhelmed and discouraged i feel, just ask me what time i got up.