Night Owl's Lament

We're looking to rent two perches in the owlery. 

DD and I are both night owls. What does this mean? Well, we could both happily stay up half the night and we both hate getting up in the morning. Neither of us feels like eating anything at breakfast time - it takes at least a couple of hours of wakefulness to work up any appetite. And both of us are hungry from about 4 pm onwards and still looking for something to nibble at around 10 pm.

During the long summer holiday we were like a couple of students going to bed later and later and getting up nearer and nearer towards lunch time. This was possible because my work over the summer was running online English courses with papers submitted for grading and feedback. No one in the household had a set schedule. This is nice for a while but after a few weeks it begins to feel slothful and unfulfilling.

The truth is that even though night owls are awake for roughly the same amount hours as larks, they are rarely as productive. Even for a night owl, the mornings are the most productive - if you can catch the mornings. Some of this might be to do with feeling virtuous to have risen with the dawn and have the whole day stretching ahead of you.

There's no getting away from the, 'I'm a bit of lazy slob,' feeling that comes with getting up late. And when it gets dark outside, you slow down and do less even if it's the equivalent of early afternoon for you. Being a night owl basically means you have more time to waste watching tv or messing about online, and less time to live your life.

I cannot describe the effort it takes us to get out of the house on time of a mid-winter morning when you're tired from lack of sleep as well as experiencing the freezing and sometimes wet darkness that everyone suffers. But equally, I cannot describe the willpower it takes to go to bed at a reasonable time.

I can entice myself to bed with the promise of a good book. But DD, who is not yet reading on a level equal to her level of interest and maturity, just lies there being bored. Through necessity she's learnt how to make up elaborate daydreams. I insist she gets into bed at 8 pm (now that we're back at school) and stories can take up to an hour (have you seen the length of a Harry Potter chapter? And she has to read to me first). However, DD can be lying awake until 10 pm, even after a full day of school.

DD has friends who can't keep their eyes open past 7.30 and some who even go to bed at 7 pm! On the other hand, they all get up at 6 am! You can't have your adult time at both ends I know this. Until now I've been pretty smug about having a child who sleeps late. However, she's old enough now that I don't have to entertain her at stupid o'clock and she also has things to do.

The only way we are going to survive this school year is by getting up earlier and being tired enough to go to bed earlier. The alarm clock has been going off at 7 am and we drag ourselves out of bed at 7.15. Tonight I'm setting the alarm for 6 am. I'm not quite sure what we're going to do with that extra hour yet, but it has to be done. I'll let you know.