I see by the calendar that it's nearly time, once again, to turn back our clocks. The downside, of course, is 5 p.m. sunsets. The upside is an extra hour of sleep, on one morning out of the entire year. I'll take it.
Not that any mornings, for people like me, are welcomed with bright, sunshiny faces. Some of us take to mornings like Jon Stewart takes to Glenn Beck.
I've come to realize the world is divided into two kinds of people: There are morning people, and then there are people who say, "WTF? Can't I sleep just one more hour?"
Like most morning-challenged individuals, I attempt to cope. For starters, I've eliminated a host of little tasks many people needlessly assign to the early a.m. hours.
I prepare my lunches in the evening. I bathe before bedtime. I even lay out the next day's wardrobe the night before. (Warning: Do NOT attempt this after consuming several drinks. I assure you, by 2 p.m., you will be reconsidering that houndstooth blazer with the fuschia and lime green striped T-shirt which appeared perfectly matched the prior night.)
Sadly, however, not all morning tasks can be allocated to the previous evening. Midnight snacks of cold pizza or an entire box of Wheat Thins aside, most of us need to eat something soon after waking. This, my friends, is why God invented the office vending machine. Or, on a really good day, leftover bagels from an early morning meeting which fortuitously, was not on our calendars.
Makeup, well, that's a nagging issue. I've considered skipping it altogether. But I fear if I attempted a day at the office sans-makeup, my coworkers would flee from the building, shrieking like hapless teenagers in the movie The Night of the Living Dead. Consequently, I apply my makeup each day like any normal woman should--on my drive to work. (What? Do you know a better way to occupy yourself at red lights? I'm all about time management, people!)
By implementing each of these time-saving steps, I've whittled down my morning regimen to roughly twenty minutes. Up at 7:30, out of the house by 7:50, to work by 8:20. Give or take a bit for traffic jams. Or for a few more minutes of sleep.
And you people who start your mornings--BY CHOICE--at 6 a.m.? Because you want to prepare and enjoy a bacon and egg breakfast? Or watch television? Or empty your dishwasher?
Well, don't judge me, you freaks of nature. Because next spring, when the Time Gods mess with us again, you'll be waking up at five! And even you morning people will be whining then.
Don't call me to complain. I don't answer my phone before 7:30, give or take an hour.
But I will take your call in the car on my way to work--as soon as I finish with my mascara.
When do you feed the animals!?? They wouldn't let me out of the house in the morning if I left their bowls empty!
ReplyDeleteJoan
No time to eat my own breakfast, but God forbid I make the menagerie wait... Everyone gets fed, yes, and then they also get treats because I feel guilty about abandoning them for the day.
ReplyDeleteIf it weren't for Ringo and Company, I'd be out of the house in ten flat.
We are amazingly similar...in all the best ways of course.
ReplyDeleteI, too, shower at night, pre-make 4 lunch's each night, lay out everyone's clothing and make an english muffin or toast to eat in the car on the way to work.
Today I woke from my beauty sleep at 7:45 and left the house at 8:05. It was beautiful.
Amanda: Shocked. Utterly.
ReplyDeleteLOL. I'm a morning person by necessity. Like you, I try to get a lot of stuff ready and out of the way the evening before. That helps to take the edge off of a potentially surly mood. But just the edge.
ReplyDeleteLisa: Oh, my mornings were WAY rougher when I had to get kids ready for school. I generally had to add on an extra hour just to get my oldest son out of bed. The only thing which would have taken the edge off of my mood on those mornings was a fifth of vodka.
ReplyDelete