Time Zones

We have really devoted this break to getting our new house "put together".... which I thought might prooooobably be secret married-people code for "mind numbing torture." But it isn't! We have been having so much fun!



A lot of this probably has to do with the fact that we are finally starting to get each others internal clocks. Because they are VERY DIFFERENT, and have led to many, many arguments in the past two years. Joey is one of those night owl people who, if left to his own devices, would probably stay up until four A.M. or so, and then sleep until two in the afternoon. Just thinking about this schedule gives me a headache. He also does not like the process of waking up, no matter how long he has slept. He does not like it on a train, he does not like it in the rain. HE DOES NOT LIKE IT! Joey needs several warnings before he is forced to get up, and then a minimum of an hour before his pleasant Joey personality joins us.



I, on the other hand, am a morning person. Even though this past week has been a school break, I've been getting up without an alarm, around six every morning. Because I wake up! And then I might as well get up! And then I might as well DO STUFF! Part of this is my natural personality, part of it is the fact that around six A.M. it is very, very likely that either McLovin or I will be in desperate need of a potty break. But I have always loved mornings, and when I open my eyes, I am AWAKE. I hit snooze because alarms are rude, and they seem so bossy that people ought to ignore them. Like "mandatory fun" (how I hated that phrase in college!!!) or "required reading". But this is because I am stubborn and obstinant, not sleepy. Although, once four in the afternoon hits, I am usually fantasizing about a nap. I love naps.



Out of self-preservation and love, Joey and I have limited our interaction with each other in the mornings. I get up at 5:30 on school days, get ready, and wake him up (several times) at 6:15. He rolls out of bed, stumbles around for a few minutes, and then we leave in silence. He drops me off at our school, where I eat breakfast and then do all of my grading and planning and cleaning and copying in early-morning, no-one-is-here-to-bother-me bliss. I LOVE my mornings. And Joey goes to class, where I assume he wakes up about halfway through lecture, then stops back home to change clothes and clean up before coming to school for the day. And sometimes if I'm really nice, I have microwaved some breakfast burritos for him. And sometimes if he is really nice, he brings me coffee from McDonalds. And we touch base about our days and our students, and all is happy in Newlywed Land.



The few times we have deviated too much from this routine, you hear a lot of "I never knew you were such a JERK" and "Why are you being so annoying? Leave me alone! It's EARLY!!"

We find that it is best to respect the routine.



Weekends and school holidays have been more of a problem, and we would get VERY annoyed with each other. But this Thanksgiving break, we have been working this whole nocturnal/diurnal dilemma. I get up early and take care of the puppy, and work on my house-y projects all morning, and blog. He wakes up around eleven, gets up around noon with personality in place, and we eat breakfast/lunch. We run errands and work on joint projects until around three, when I get tired and take a nap. Then he keeps working and fantasy sportsing until around five, when I get up and we have dinner and spend time together. Then I'm usually ready for a bath (and in the case of last night, a heavenly massage!) and bed around ten, and Joey is kicked into high gear and works on his projects until one in the morning or so.



It has been so nice! It does not an interesting blog post make, but I'm enjoying how we aren't making each other crazy over all of these home-improvement projects and free time.



And in a somewhat sleep-related segue, my ribs hurt so bad night before last that I woke up CONVINCED that the baby had somehow gotten her head stuck between two of them. I'm not very logical at three in the morning. Or very caring either, apparently. Since I rolled over and went back to sleep.