Catching The Early Morning

Sunrise from my balcony
I no longer have this view. The building on the left has added two storeys

Following my Night Owl's Lament here's what happened after I published it at just before 8 pm last night.

Now that we are back at school, 8 pm is the time I insist that DD gets into bed. She reads to me, I read to her - a process that can take up to an hour - and then I leave her to toss and turn for up to another two hours before falling asleep.

The plan was to get up at 6 am this morning so that we are more tired at bedtime and will go to sleep earlier. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with that extra hour in the morning but it had to be done nevertheless.

So at 8 pm last night DD comes into the living room with her tablet that she's been happily watching for over an hour, and announces that she's got to do her Hebrew homework. I was furious because I'd told her that she wasn't allowed on the tablet until homework was finished. I distinctly remembered her checking her schedule for today and saying how it was lucky she didn't have Hebrew so the homework could wait.

DD: "Nooooo! I said I didn't have Torah tomorrow, I didn't say Hebrew!"
Me: "Well it's too late now. You knew you weren't allowed on the tablet until your homework was finished."
DD: Howling with fear. "But I've got Hebrew tomorrow! I've got to do it! I'm doing it!" She takes the page to the dining table. "I need help."
Me: "It's too late now. We'll get up early tomorrow and do it before school." (So that solved the question of how to fill the time.)

She didn't believe me of course. We never manage to get up early. There was a lot of crying and some shouting. I said we could do the homework instead of her chapter of Harry Potter. This did not go down well. In the end she tried to do some of the homework herself and completed one question. This calmed her down and we went to bed for stories.

I left her at 9 pm with promises to set the alarm for 6 am. I think she fell asleep around 9.45. Well it's exhausting having a meltdown.

I intended to go to bed at around 11 but I wasn't remotely tired at 11 even though I'd been on the go since 7 am. So I hung around wasting time until 12.30 am, as one does. And then I got into bed. I passed the time mentally deciding on menus for the coming Jewish festival of Rosh Hashanna. At 1 am an alarm went off in the neighbourhood. At 1.30 DD suddenly woke up and shouted, "WHAT TIME IS IT?" At 2.30 I was cold so I went to get a blanket. (We're still sleeping under a sheet but I think the time has come to stuff the sheet with a duvet.) I think I finally fell asleep then.

6 am and on comes the alarm. It was still dark outside, I'd slept for only 3 1/2 hours, and it was just too early. DD was panicking about her homework but I persuaded her that we could re-set the alarm for 6.30 and still have enough time. She went straight back to sleep and so did I.

At 6.30 it was light outside and we had no choice but to get up. We dressed and I made coffee and poured juice for DD. We then sat and did the homework together.

In many ways it was much more pleasant than doing it in the evening when she's not fresh and we've both had enough of working for the day. It also was nice having plenty of time to potter. I did the dishes in the sink and brought in the laundry from the line. I could get used to this.

To be continued.....