Joinsupermoms

What time do you go to bed and wake up currently?

I went to bed upset last night, so I didn’t sleep deeply as I should have. As usual, the song birds chirped in wild choir by dusk and I opened my eyes in defiance of myself. Any thoughts of going back to sleep were dashed by my neighbour revving his car to go where I believe is work.

He’s one of those I fear doesn’t have a life. Out before 6, back about midnight and sometimes honking the neighbourhood down by 2 am. How does that person sleep deeply? I can’t sleep deeply if I know I have to be up at a specific time!

I don’t care much about him. Usually I am deep asleep through it all. I know I need a certain number of hours, so I just make sure I sleep by a specific time each night. Ambient temperature and my body decide the rest.

But by last night my daughter’s school hadn’t responded to up to 4 urgent email requests. Very irresponsible, I thought…and keep thinking till now. And yesterday I found out a friend would be going into surgery. So I had started planning light meals and a support routine for when she comes out of it.

Bad Sleep Habits

I’ve gotten into this bad habit of reading on my phone first thing in the morning. It electrocutes my brain. Terrible habit. And sometimes I find myself doing it just before bed. Could be anything from the news to a random blog. Usually several short reads.

This morning I stumbled on Paratha’s blog and the writer referring to themselves as a Lazy Legend who only gets out of bed when the whims of their body dictate so. That’s what I should be doing right now, I whined.

My body’s unforgetting when I cram it with unfinished business like yesterday. My brain has prepared the next email for the school – now I just have to type it (my fingers, twitching already). My brain’s also submitted the shopping list for my friend’s easy digestible meals. Now I just have to go buy ingredients. It’s even come up with related blog posts…but that’s not how it’s supposed to work.

I can’t be on autopilot lest I burn out and crash one day very soon. Being a lazy legend is perhaps the only way to make sustainable, mind and body rejuvenating sleep. So, sleep deeply. Regardless of which “a.m” you swear by, none of the a.m club principles work unless you get some rejuvenating deep sleep.

The sun will rise, the birds will chirp, annoying neighbours will be annoying and the lives and health of our loved ones will always call our attention.

But we can’t be there for our loved ones, we can’t be productive if we don’t sleep deeply. So please, be a lazy legend if you must. Let your body say when it’s rested enough.

Do not take the day’s unfinished business with you into your sleep and Do wake up when the heck you feel like it.

Just sleep

I found out, much to the chagrin of my ego, that if I come in late after a night of much needed sleep, my office building won’t collapse. No one is indispensable, my boss likes to say, eyes red almost popping out from lack of sleep. The womanpreneur!

Even that meeting you thought couldn’t hold without you can very well do and probably should! I mean think of it, President Biden blames a Razzies worthy debate outing on poor sleep! The manpreneur!

I’m not quite the lazy legend, because on days like these when duty calls – and it does quite often – responsibility does require that I get out of bed kicking and screaming.

But I want to say to Paratha, I am determined to retire a lazy legend. Some day, I will only always wake up when my body is good and ready. Regardless of market futures, hormones or mundane daily shenanigans. There goes the little voice in my head, rolling her eyes. But is it too much to ask?