Eee and I have been tired since our first one was born and now, only now, have we discovered a way to cover the 24/7 that comprises a parent's range of duty.
He works until 3 am; I get up at 3 am.
Every night when I read stories to Jee and Aee, my eyes get droopy, the melatonin kicks in and I want nothing more than to "rest for a minute". A while back I considered indulging in the urge to fall asleep at 7 pm. It felt wonderful. In the morning, my eyes fluttered open on their own, I had a good, long stretch, and my mind began kicking into action. Wow, that feels good.
For the last few months I have tried this on and off to see if it works for our family. I sleep from 7 pm to 3 am. Eee sleeps from 3 am to 8 am, gets the kids to school with me then sleeps some more.
I wish we had discovered something like this earlier. Every night, when there's a problem in the middle of the night (a child wakes up, the cat tips something over and wakes us up, a phone rings, someone's laptop or phones starts beeping low battery) there is always an awake parent to deal with it.
Night owl meets early bird.
I just wish we had figured this out during the little kid years. Moral of the story = respect your own inner clock. Take societal conventions with a grain of salt. Do what works for you.
