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Friday, September 16, 2011

Lisa Dale - Not Before I've Had My Coffee

Hi all!

Hope that those of you living in the Northeast are enjoying the beautiful weather. Here is a quote about autumn that just broke my heart:

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. George Eliot

But I haven't popped on this morning to blog about autumn. I want to blog about morning.

Here's why: Every darn morning my husband and I participate in what I like to call The Glockenspiel Hour. Chimes galore.

For one hour, we both lie in bed, half-dazed and paralyzed by sleepiness, listening to our alarm clocks. And lest you think this is a SMALL feat, I will tell you that we have no fewer that FOUR alarm clocks (two cell phones, my alarm [which has two different individual alarms set], and his alarm).

We've tried everything--putting the alarm clocks across the room. Setting only one. Trying to give each other a "time to get up" pep talk...nothing works!

At least, not usually.

But yesterday morning, I was able to get myself up at the fragile hour of six a.m. to head off to Panera to do some writing on my new project (which is desperately due). And I was reminded: I love early morning. I love watching the bathroom get brighter while I'm brushing my teeth. I love the strange light before sunrise. And I love writing first thing in the a.m.

So why, if I love morning, do I suffer The Glockenspiel Hour?

I also love my husband, who often works late at night. I like when he's all sleepy and cuddly. I like to hear the sound of him grumbling when the alarm clocks go off, the pulling me closer. And I like getting up at the same time as he does--instead of rising early--because I like hearing him putter around: the buzz of the razor, the water falling in the shower, and the smell of his skin when he gets out.


So what's a writer to do?

If you're an early morning riser, I would love to hear your tips! I may have to make a concerted effort at forfeiting the GH so I can focus on my new book. But I'm not a morning person and need your help!

Ideas?

Good things,

Lisa Dale

P.S. I posted honeymoon pictures (with goofy commentary) at my blog! Comment and enter to win my Love To Readers prize.



8 comments:

LD Ferris said...

I'm laughing at this, because it's the same thing that I do. My husband mocks me relentlessly because if I have to actually be somewhere and attractively presentable by 9am, I'll set my alarm for 6:30... Even though total preparation time it only about 45minutes. Like you, I'll hit my alarm for an hour or more, if someone in the house doesn't get mad at the beeping that sounds through the house every 7 minutes. I've always been like this, even in high school and university I was one of those people who waits to wake up until the very last possible minute without being late. Becoming a mom didn't change that too much for me - I've stayed at home with the kids for nearly all of the last seven years, but with my 2 oldest in school now I've had to start getting up in order to get them ready for the day. I still have to set my alarm for a good hour before I really need to get out of bed, and I've developed a very passionate love for coffee, but I've also come to appreciate those few 'early' morning writing sessions that I'm able to get in, the beauty of the sunrise (something that I honestly don't think I ever truly appreciated before), and the quiet peacefulness of a sleeping house.

But honestly the only trick I can offer, the only thing I can suggest to help find those early mornings more... caffeine. LOL! Sorry that I don't have anything more profound to share, but really coffee is the only thing that keeps me upright and conscious some days. :-)

Good luck and thanks for the smiles from your post!

Anne McAllister said...

Oooh, hard choice, Lisa. I sympathize. I am one who sets the alarm for the last possible minute, rolls out and gets moving as quick as I can. But I do like those lingering in bed knowing I don't have to get up instantly times. Guess I'll wait for weekends for those!

Pat Cochran said...

Definitely NOT an early riser! Honey is
up around 5:30 am, leaving me to snuggle
into the covers for the warmth he leaves
behind! I was up early for many years
and he now lets me sleep later, although
I usually do awaken before he leaves. It
won't be too long before he retires, then
we both can sleep in together!

Pat Cochran

Na said...

I am an early riser but don't physically get out of bed until much later. This means my mind is fully functioning so as much as I want to get out of bed, I grudingly do. I don't even go to bed early, often I fall asleep past midnight usually kept up by a great read, other times I just can't fall asleep.

Speaking of alarms, my parent's room is filled with those gadgets. So many alarms. Funny thing is I have a mental alarm clock. If I tell myself I need to wake up at a certain time, I do, and on the dot. It's eerie but comes in handy. If I need to be up by say 6:04am, I'll be up then. However, I always have my cell phone alarm just in case.

My tip, wake up and smile or grimace. It'll make the day look that much better :)

Mary Preston said...

I am NOT a morning person or a night person. I basically hit my stride mid-morning & then it's all down hill from there.

Lisa Dale said...

Thanks for your comments and for your suggestions!

I guess there's no right way to wake up in the morning--so there's nothing left to do but be grateful for whatever the morning is.

That said, I've really got to get my butt in gear with my new project--so I'll be seeing a few sunrises in the next few weeks.

:-)

And LDFerris, I'm glad you commented because I'm glad to know I'm not alone!

Michele L. said...

Well, I do get up somewhat early. I usually wake up around 7:00am. Sometimes I will sleep in till 8:00am. I think the latest I have ever slept in was 9:30am.

ev said...

We use the TV. Loudly. Alarm clocks don't work for me and my husband is deaf, so even when he accidentally sets the one that is RIGHT NEXT TO HIS HEAD, he doesn't hear it when it goes off at midnight. I have to wake him up to turn it off. Fair's fair.

I do have an obnoxious alarm on my cell phone. It works too.

But I am up at 5am for work every morning, so I can get in the bathroom first and use up the hot water.