Not to be an alarmist, but.....

     I set my alarm clock for 3:00 this morning, but I actually never heard it go off.  I've got a great sense of time and an internal clock that is pretty clued in, so I went years before I ever heard what my alarm sounded like.  I only have to think of the time I want to get up and I generally will wake up a few minutes prior to that time, and I

turn off the alarm before it rings, and then get up.  I do the same with wake up calls, but I'll sometimes not wake up prior to those coming.  I think it has something to do with the physical act of setting the alarm, and then my brain records it as the time I need to get up too.  I'm not sure how common a thing this is, and I'd love to hear from you all as to your morning routines.   I do try and maintain some type of schedule at home and this does help.  I'll generally go to bed around 10 and read for 15-30 minutes.  I don't have trouble falling asleep so I'm out a few minutes after I put my book down.  I'm a firm believer in the 90 minute REM cycle, so I'll try and set the alarm to approximate that.  So it's a fair statement to say that I've rarely heard my alarm, but I can't say the same about my wife's.

     Now, don't get the impression that my wife sleeps through her alarm or anything of that sort.  As a matter of fact the reason I started rising at 4:30 am was that it suited her work schedule at that time, and I kind of liked getting less sleep.  I find little value in it, and I am able to accomplish a lot more by adding a few extra

Yup, I sleep through this.

hours each week to my day.  She, on the other hand, likes her sleep, so it was a sacrifice that she made for the family to rise each morning, that early, and go right to work.  She generally got up shortly after her alarm went off, and I've never known her to hit the snooze and go back to bed.  I often wonder when the snooze button was added to alarm clocks?  When did we start having to give 2nd chances just for getting up in the am?  Her work schedule had changed now, so there isn't the need to get up so early, so we've both compromised and now get up around 5, but the funny thing is, when she sets the alarm, I never get up before I hear it go off, and actually have been known to sleep through it.  I find that so odd.  I'm a disciplined person, but somehow letting my wife set the alarm apparently relieves me of all responsibilities associated with it.  Weird huh?  When I was an active volunteer fireman in town, I'd awake when my pager went off and before the big siren in town did.  Now, however, I'm not on the active rolls and I've actually

Mmmm, Corn Pops.....

slept through the siren, and it's only 4 backyards away from me. It's probably not a whole lot different than when we had babies in the house.  If I knew I wasn't on the late night feeding duty, I'd never hear the baby crying.  A lot of ladies probably think that we do that kind of thing on purpose and just pretend to be sleeping, but speaking for me only, I don't.  I can't tell you the number of times I've gotten up in the am only to find out my wife had been up with a sick child.  "Really"?, I'll say, "4 times, you got up with him?" slurping my Corn Pops, "I never heard a thing".

     This weekend I went to Buffalo NY with my Scout Troop and slept on the USS Little Rock with about 17 others crammed into a small berth. As you can imagine we had the constant squeaks from the metal frames, some snoring from a few adults, whispers between the Scouts and of course, I slept through it all.  We had reveille at 06:00 and while they were wiping the sleep tears from their eyes, I decided to go down and volunteer to serve in the chow line.  If you are not a happy

The Little Rock, I highly recommend an overnight encampment

morning person, we should probably never rent a vacation house together.  I normally snap awake and start some activity pretty soon afterwards, and yes, I've been known to even whistle while doing it.  I wonder how many people reading this blog early Tuesday morning with their first cup of coffee, just groaned "Oh God !".  That's me, bringing people back to religion since 2010, you're welcome. I'm got to start to finish now and head to the airport (Well why did you think I was up at 3?, I'm not a nut you know).  It's a short flight but maybe I'll catch a cap nap during it, cuz I can sleep on planes too. Just a few weeks ago, I awoke mid-drool on a flight, I was that sound asleep (I wonder when I'll lose that ability, to awake before the drool hits my shirt?).  I'll be back in a few days, but don't bother setting an alarm, I've got that covered.