I read this one and smiled at the first thing that came to mind: go to bed.
I just really like to go to bed. I have never, ever been a night owl, even in my teen years.
(A shocking truth: I went to bed at 9:00 pm and got up at 5:00 a.m. for most of my teen years, by my own choice.)
Mr. FG and the girls kind of get a second wind around 9:00 p.m. and I. CANNOT. RELATE.
In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten anything resembling a second wind at 9:00 p.m. or later! I just get more and more deflated as the hours go by.
Also, for better or for worse, I am a person who is always thinking ahead. I am also a person who is downright terrible at sleeping in; my body just wakes me up and I cannot go back to sleep.
This combo means that if I consider staying up really late, I am extremely cognizant of the fact that if I stay up, I am guaranteeing that the next day will be full of exhaustion. Is it worth it to stay up an hour or two if the result is 16 hours of weariness the next day?
The answer is almost always, “Nope.”
It would be much more convenient for me if I were a night owl like the rest of my family, but alas, I think I am always destined to be more of an early bird.
My first thought was “sleep.” And like you, I have always been this way, even in college (much to my roommates’ displeasure, I’m sure). So . . . pretty much everything you wrote.
As they say the early bird catches the worms. Me I am definitely a night owl. I had to go to bed every night at 7pm when I was a kid. At some point I got an extra half hour for my birthday every year. Not sure how old I was when that started.
When I was in high school I could stay up as long as I wanted to finish my school work. That was the best. Now I usually go to bed when my kids and hubby go. But I have trouble staying asleep.
I did the same thing as a teen! I start shutting down the later it gets so reading a book is about as exciting as I get.
The best part of the day is when the kids are settled in bed. I love them and all their racket is completely appropriate and healthy, and yet by then it’s fully time for them to go be quiet and let me be.
Also, sleep. I will add my voice to this. I have not always been an “early to bed, early to rise” person, but I am now.
Cannot say I am either wealthy or wise, but that’s OK; I’m healthy enough, and beyond that, what I have is enough.
I love to read in the evenings. Sometimes I get big chunks of time to read after the kids are in bed, other times it’s just a few minutes of reading a magazine before I go to sleep.
You are my people.
I remember in university how hard it was to study late. I hired someone once as a consultant. She would observe during the day and then go to bed setting her alarm for 4:00a.m. To write until 8:00 when she was back observing. I will say by late afternoons sometimes she was nodding off.
I love to see the sunrise.
I find it hard also to “sleep in”.
I go to a 6:15 weights/resistance training group. Monday,Wednesday,Friday.
We all like getting our day started early and getting this done.
Read or watch a good movie. I have to be careful, because either one can have me up late [One more chapter! (or) It’s 9:30 and the movie is 2 hours long, but I really, really want to see it!] I am a night owl, so even though I’m so tired the next day, I like to be up late, listening to the real owl hoo-hoo-ing outside my window. Give me something to catch my interest, and I’ll stay up to 1 or 2 am, so I have to be super disciplined about starting a book or movie in the evening, assuming I have the time to do either, which is rare these days.
See a sunset, eat a great dinner, play a game, watch TV or movie, finish a project… or start one! Hanging out with people. I’m one of those night owls. Mornings I’m not much good. As a nurse I preferred evening shift except for the family aspect.