Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Why I get up early in the morning...

"She rises while it is yet night and provides food for 
her household and portions for her maidens."   


The Proverbs 31 woman's description is enough reason to get me out of bed early.  So is a nursing infant or if my husband desires for me to see him off in the mornings.  But in my house...there is another reason that I get up early.


This lesson was learned the hard way.  Yes, there was a time that I did NOT get up early.  I need sleep, as do the rest of us, and for a year, I was staying up to read in bed until 2am, 3am, and sometimes, 4am.  When I did that, I would HAVE to sleep until the children woke up at 8:00 or 8:30am just to function the next day. 



At some point, I made the decision to stop staying up so late at night to read, and instead, to get up early in the morning to do it.  It helped me to get in bed at a decent hour--and at the same time as my husband--rather than being up for nearly the entire time he slept.  I got a lot done in the morning, too, and I got to enjoy a bit of solitude before the bustle of the day began.   


When I began getting up early, I noticed a change beginning to occur...


Of course, as one would expect, I was getting more sleep.  My husband was getting better sleep because he wasn't trying to sleep with the lamp on all night long.  Because of our rested condition, we had better attitudes each day, which then led to a better atmosphere at home and at work.  But there was one more person in our family hugely affected by my being up early in the morning...


My oldest son is a natural leader, and will take responsibility in any area that he sees no one else do so.  It became an unbelievable challenge to try to get him to understand that I would take care of things each day.  He was not convinced that if little sister or little brother did something they shouldn't, I would handle it--and he didn't have to.  But no matter how many times we said it, he still never seemed to back down from taking responsibility.


Don't get me wrong...I believe his taking responsibility will be a good thing in his life!  But when he was only five years old, and even now at seven years old, it is not good.  He does not need to be scolding his siblings, and especially does not need to be trying to administer any type of consequence! 



I have noticed that on days I am up before him by even just 5 minutes (and dressed in clothes), his behavior is totally different!  It is better!  He is not trying to tell his little sister and brother what to do all day.  He is not trying to tell me what to do.  It is as if he can relax and be the kid that he should be!  It makes my heart hurt to think that he carried such a weight on his shoulders JUST because I was catching up on sleep that I should have been getting at earlier hours.  But now he sees that I've got this, and knows that he doesn't have to be the responsible one.


So now...I get up early because I like mornings. 

I get up early because I get a lot done in the mornings that helps my day run more smoothly.

I get up early so I will be ready for bed at a decent hour. 


But mostly, I get up early to beat my oldest out of bed!  



How about you?  Do you get up early?  Why or why not?  Tell me more in the comments! 

3 comments:

  1. Love this!!!
    I was a morning, early to rise, person before getting married and immediately pregnant after the wedding ;-)
    We are finally at a stage in life where my husband works a "normal" job and wakes up at 4:30 am every morning. With 5 littles between the ages of 8 and 18 months I understand the importance of being "UP" before them. I too struggled with this until recently and have been waking with my hubby (most days) at 4:30 am. I make his lunch and send him on his way, then spend the rest of my 3 hours reading my bible, spending time with the Lord and doing the things my husband needs done, but cannot complete in his busy schedule. I can have breakfast ready, fresh warm muffins hot cereal or whatever the beauties request. It is a delightful feeling having the morning to "ground" myself before the chaos begins!!!
    So right NOW I would say my husband gets me up early ;-)
    But I am hoping in a few weeks my passion to be the mommy God has created me to BE is what will get me up early ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I work night shift from 10 pm-6 am Sun-Thu. I get home around 6:17, stay up a couple hours to spend time with my husband, make breakfast, take my dog for his walk, then be in bed between 9 and 10 am, and up between 5 and 6 pm, make supper, then get ready to return to work

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am SOOOO not naturally a morning person. With four kids eight and under it seems like I can get so much more done at night after they're in bed. I have been pushing bedtime back further and further over the years, and recently found myself still up and awake 2-3 in the morning, as well. It was fairly recently that I decided that was irresponsible of me no matter how much I thought I was getting done at night. I am TIRED the next day, which makes me grumpy and less productive around the house. I'm really trying to discipline myself to get to bed earlier and be up closer to 7. The 8-8:30 thing, I've found, isn't very helpful for getting a good start and being productive around the house. We homeschool as well, so being productive as far as crafting and sewing (which I so love) above and beyond housework is a challenge even on the best of schedules. I've had to resign most of that to the weekends, which is HARD! But it allows me to sleep and function better on a more normal schedule during the week.

    ReplyDelete

Love hearing from you.