O’Dark Thirty

In my younger days, I sometimes got up at o’dark thirty to go for a training run or get ready for a race. Not being one to embrace the wee hours of the day, I had to get my stuff laid out the night before. If I had to spend extra energy gathering my running apparel, filling my water bladder, or other preparation, I was unlikely to make it out the door with enough time to make getting up worth the effort.

Back then, my mommy duties and work dictated my schedule.  These days, it is the schedule of the yoga studio that drives my need to rise early.  I no longer run.  Instead, I practice a particular yoga style that is traditionally practiced early in the morning, prior to eating, six days per week.

Did I mention that I am NOT a morning person?

I really struggle to get out of bed before the sun peaks over the hills. This morning’s struggle was especially difficult. My alarm dinged at 5AM sharp. I promptly turned it off, got out of bed to cancel my back up alarm, turned on the light… then returned to my warm bed. I heard myself mumble the same words my son, YaYa often says when I repeatedly try to wake him: “Just a few more minutes.”

But a few more minutes is never just a few. Of course, I fell back to sleep. She who suffers from insomnia in the evenings, suffers from an inability to wake when the sun is still sleeping. I woke up 25 minutes later, bound out of bed, and rushed to get out the door. Of course it was still dark outside.

When will we actually be able to tell that the days are getting longer? WHEN?

I arrived at the yoga studio an hour later than usual and my practice was cut short because of it.

At least tomorrow I can sleep in.