Nighty-nite

The epic struggles of a true blue, genetically coded night owl... it's rough, yo.

Every work day I struggle with the veil of sleepiness that is wrapped so tightly around me, it makes it almost impossible for me to wriggle out of my warm, snuggly, enchanting bed. I do get up and out. I am a responsible type, who knows I must get to work to pay the bills and keep myself fed. That is my only motivation to get up at such evil times of the day. And I know others get up earlier, some even prefer the early morning hours. The quiet, the fresh aroma of a brand new sunrise. Me? It just feels wrong to be up that early. I feel the oddness in my bones.

There are some that think that getting up early is virtuous. I think that's bullshit. That idea was obviously planted by a morning person, most likely back in the days before electricity. Oh my god, I can't imagine how hard it would have been for me in the days when rising with the sun was the norm. Someone would have probably accused me of being a witch for keeping such late hours.

For me, the later in the day the better. I had a manager who once introduced me to a new employee, and then went around the corner and told her that no one spoke to be before 10. Hilarious, because it's true. When I get a stretch of being able to get up whenever I want, I adjust to a very regular schedule. Stay up until 2-3am, sleep a good nine hours, and get up around 11-12pm. Aaah, now that's the way to live!

Once the day begins to wane, I feel myself relax and settle into the day. Then the moon rises and it gets dark, and I feel free. Really, that's how it feels. The coolness of the night, the quiet (yes, it does get quiet at night here in Brooklyn), and all is well. I love to gaze up into the night sky and pick out the stars. One of the disappointments of my recent trip home was that it was overcast most of the time, so I missed out on quality star time. The night is when I feel creative, make plans, and usually start projects. I can spend the whole day knowing I need to clean the apartment, but I just can't seem get to it until late afternoon. I have spent many evenings in the seven o'clock hour cleaning the tub and toilet.

I love it when people tell me that I just have to get used to getting up in the morning. I got up at 6am every day for high school. That never got easy. Never. Mom told me that I was a night person right out of the womb. I was born around 2pm, and stayed up late right out of the gate. I remember being six years old and being mad that I wasn't allowed to stay up and watch The Tonight Show, so I snuck down a couple of times anyway.

The first seven years or so that I lived here I worked nights. Ah, the 3-11pm shift. A night owl's dream schedule. I had enough time in the day to take care of errands, and I got to work when my brain was running at optimum capacity. Not to mention riding the subway was much more pleasant. Now I am back working 9-6, and I gotta tell ya, this gal is not productive at.all. It's quite frustrating.

My therapist once told me that I was the night owl-iest night owl she had ever met. When I switched my appointments from noon to 6pm she was shocked at the difference in my energy (I think she doubted my insistence at being a lady of the dark before then). It's always nice to be proven right. Especially to a doubting therapist.