Mornings have always been fraught for me. I have distinct memories of my dad being my “alarm clock,” clambering into my sister’s and my room, pajama-clad, and flipping the lights on and off repeatedly while making siren noises. All in the name of timeliness.
Although my mother’s approach, the shoulder-tap-say-name-sternly, was certainly gentler, neither really charmed me to mornings.
So I went off into the wide world with a disdain for mornings. But recently I’ve been waking up, without an alarm, almost daily. And it’s not just that I’m awake in time for work, but with ample time; time that is free and unscheduled.
I wake up and sit with a cup of coffee and The Times. I meditate. I listen to Freakconomics and apply eyeliner.
I’m starting to realize mornings don’t have to include sirens and dashing out the door after all.
Ashley Collom is a Texan 20-something who now resides in NYC. She works in book publishing, lives with her pet tortoise Maxwell House, and has a soft spot for craft beers and pint-sized ice cream. You can follow her on Twitter @ashohley and contact her for freelance writing assistance at http://ashleyscollom.wix.com/freelance.
I never realized I was a morning person until the last few years, but you’re right- its that waking up without even having the alarm and having time still. I also have to catch myself because I’m someone who can start talking right away, and I know a lot of people need that morning cup of coffee first to get them going 🙂
Oh, this made me laugh. 🙂 My dad was a Switch the Lights on guy and my mum was the Shoulder Tap. Neither, thank goodness, included a siren in their repertoire, but we often got an accompaniment of very loud children’s music. 🙂