Night Owl

I am screwed. I knew this was true, but have been denying it for years. Now it is painfully clear that it has to be dealt with or Aiden is going to suffer. I am a night owl.

I stayed up until 4 am, clear thinking and productive. I created lesson plans for the next 4 weeks, a sample site for the project that my students are doing and a Newsletter for the adjuncts. Four o’clock in the morning and I still wasn’t sleepy! I knew that Aiden was going to be up anywhere between 6 and 7 am, leaving me with very little sleep with which to function. What was I thinking?!?

I was thinking that my work was getting done. I was thinking that it is very difficult during the day to get anything done, even during his naps. I was thinking I could nap when Aiden naps. Well, I thought wrong… strangely, I woke up, stayed up with Aiden, got even more done during his nap and went to bed at normal time. The crash is coming, I just know it!

Now, I’m sure this behavior is just some strange twitch in my cycle, but it made me realize that I do indeed function better after 9 pm. This is not good since I know that Aiden needs me to be fully functioning during the day. He is a toddler for crying out loud! He does want me plopped on the couch asking him to play with his puzzles or blocks or cars again for the umpteenth time. He wants/needs mommy playtime - swing me, dance with me, play “chase me” or “peek-a-boo” or even take me to the park. But due to my new night owl-ness I am less motivated to do these things during the day.

So, do I sacrifice being productive for Aiden’s sake, or do I say that the semester is only until the beginning of December and deprive him of good mommy time for a couple of months? Just one of the many questions I will be facing as a part-time working/full-time mommy.

1 comment October 25th, 2006