Friday, September 18, 2020

Alien Me

 What just happened!!

I just woke up and it was a few minutes past 9. That's 9AM! I don't sleep in, ever. I get up at somewhere between 5 and 6 in the morning, no alarm, just my body clock. I usually got ready for work and got to work somewhere around 7:30AM. Lately I've been using that time, while Joe slept, to exercise and catch up on emails.

But this morning it was 9AM.

I've lost so much of the day!

But, and this is weird, I feel very rested.

Like I'd had a good sleep.

Hmmmm.

Is this what retirement feels like?

Is this what owning time feels like?

Years ago I did a consultation at a group home for teenagers, an idea that is shocking, and was met by staff who were universally furious that the girls who lived there were hard to get up on weekend mornings. They had chores to do, they had routines to follow, and they were LAZY. I listened and suggested that they simply leave them alone, adjust the weekend schedule to be more flexible and let them get up on their own time.You'd thought I was an alien by the way they reacted.

THOSE SCHEDULES HAVE BEEN IN PLACE FOR YEARS!

I actually had to go and write the recommendations down, get them signed by a psychologist, train the supervisor and train the staff in a weekend routine that let those kids sleep in.

I did all that as someone who never slept in, ever.

And now I think of them, and I get it!

Feels great to sleep and get up when you wake up.

No prodding.

No threats.

No nothing at all.

9AM! Maybe I am turning into an alien as "Retired Dave" seems to be taken over.


2 comments:

Krisstableford said...

Dave, same. I’ve been retired since late May; got up before (often well before) 5 AM M-F for 30 plus years. Since then I get up when I wake up (no alarm), and that’s usually not much earlier than 8! Enjoy.

ABEhrhardt said...

It is WELL documented that teens need more sleep than they get, and are not in good shape early - and ignored by every school on the planet.

Our sleep has been somewhat erratic since retirement - some days, the bad ones, I don't get to sleep until 5 or 6am. But I sleep as long as I need to catch up, take naps when I need them, and don't stress about it - and it evens out nicely.

You're no longer on the clock (try not to schedule appointments early unless there's a reason you want something over with). The world won't care, and you'll feel refreshed.