An Imperfect Snooze...
Weekdays are clock work for me. Alarm goes off at 4:00 AM. Early? Well, yes, but 4:00 is to factor in the 2-3 snoozes that come before 4:30 when I actually need to get out of bed to fit in a 30 minute workout before getting Jack and I out the door at precisely 6:33AM. It's become routine. It's become habit. As heavy as my eyelids are each morning when I will myself out of bed, the better I still feel to get my body moving in the morning be it on the elliptical or a crazy Jillian Michaels Exercise DVD filled with enough planks that you think you're ribs may fall out of your body.
However, today I decided to step out of my box. Today, when my alarm went off at 4:00 AM and the two ceremonial snoozes had been pressed, I decided, "hey, why not stay in bed?". I could sneak in a whole 45 minutes of extra sleep. The sky was still dark. I could hear the rain outside. What better morning to take the perfect snooze. Of course, I debated for about 5 minutes. Get up. Stay in bed. Get up. Stay in bed. I finally decided, "okay, I am going to do this. I am going to break from my 'perfect' routine and stay in bed for some extra shut eye. With that, my hand switched the alarm clock time ahead, pulled the covers over my body, and I shut my eyes. This was going to be nice.
Not a minute into my extra, well thought out snooze time and there's this wet nose in my face. Whiskers poking my eyes. And then a full on head butt. LUCY! Lucy, my anxiety infused cat whom I've had for 12 years does not step out of the "box" well. She has her morning routine which of course has been adapted to mine. Me sleeping past 4:30 AM was definitely NOT on her agenda. After the head butt came the purrs that got louder and louder right over my ear. Then she circled around and around on my stomach never once settling in one position like most lap cats. And when my stomach wasn't the right cushion, she was circling around on my pillow above my head, applying more head butts as she circled trying to get herself comfortable, I guess.
Five minutes into snooze time and it wasn't working for me. I picked up Lucy and gently placed her on the floor. I turned on my side, snuggled up inside my covers, and closed my eyes again. This was nice. Extra time to lie in bed listening to the rain, eyes getting heavy for a little more sleep. I am drifting off, off further into dreamland when BAM, another head butt, a loud purr, and a whisker in the eye. And so it begins again. I try petting Lucy in hopes that she will just settle into position which seems to need to be on me, not anywhere else on this queen sized bed on which I still sleep on the left hand side allowing her more space than any cat could need. So, I pick up Lucy and place her on the floor, flip over, and shut my eyes.
Seven minutes in and she's back. This is miserable. However, I am stubborn too. I will not get up and feed her. Won't that only reinforce her behavior? I can't close her out of my bedroom as I have no door on it(story for another posting). And so it ensues. For the next 33 minutes of what was supposed to be extra sleep for once, turned into a wrestling match between me and my cat. Over and over again, it was the same. I would pick her up, put her on the floor, and within minutes, her wet nose, loud purr, and tickling whiskers would be in my face.
Tomorrow? I will be out of bed by 4:30 AM.
However, today I decided to step out of my box. Today, when my alarm went off at 4:00 AM and the two ceremonial snoozes had been pressed, I decided, "hey, why not stay in bed?". I could sneak in a whole 45 minutes of extra sleep. The sky was still dark. I could hear the rain outside. What better morning to take the perfect snooze. Of course, I debated for about 5 minutes. Get up. Stay in bed. Get up. Stay in bed. I finally decided, "okay, I am going to do this. I am going to break from my 'perfect' routine and stay in bed for some extra shut eye. With that, my hand switched the alarm clock time ahead, pulled the covers over my body, and I shut my eyes. This was going to be nice.
Not a minute into my extra, well thought out snooze time and there's this wet nose in my face. Whiskers poking my eyes. And then a full on head butt. LUCY! Lucy, my anxiety infused cat whom I've had for 12 years does not step out of the "box" well. She has her morning routine which of course has been adapted to mine. Me sleeping past 4:30 AM was definitely NOT on her agenda. After the head butt came the purrs that got louder and louder right over my ear. Then she circled around and around on my stomach never once settling in one position like most lap cats. And when my stomach wasn't the right cushion, she was circling around on my pillow above my head, applying more head butts as she circled trying to get herself comfortable, I guess.
Five minutes into snooze time and it wasn't working for me. I picked up Lucy and gently placed her on the floor. I turned on my side, snuggled up inside my covers, and closed my eyes again. This was nice. Extra time to lie in bed listening to the rain, eyes getting heavy for a little more sleep. I am drifting off, off further into dreamland when BAM, another head butt, a loud purr, and a whisker in the eye. And so it begins again. I try petting Lucy in hopes that she will just settle into position which seems to need to be on me, not anywhere else on this queen sized bed on which I still sleep on the left hand side allowing her more space than any cat could need. So, I pick up Lucy and place her on the floor, flip over, and shut my eyes.
Seven minutes in and she's back. This is miserable. However, I am stubborn too. I will not get up and feed her. Won't that only reinforce her behavior? I can't close her out of my bedroom as I have no door on it(story for another posting). And so it ensues. For the next 33 minutes of what was supposed to be extra sleep for once, turned into a wrestling match between me and my cat. Over and over again, it was the same. I would pick her up, put her on the floor, and within minutes, her wet nose, loud purr, and tickling whiskers would be in my face.
Tomorrow? I will be out of bed by 4:30 AM.
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