coming out of my shell

coming out of my shell

Monday, April 17, 2017

Sleeping In?


In some ways I still have not totally adjusted to this retirement thing. For many years I got up at 5:30 a.m. I sleep until between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m. now. When I imagined retirement I expected I would sleep in luxuriously for much longer than that. Unfortunately, I still retain the working woman's anxiety mindset. When I wake up, I feel like I must GET up. I tried to stay in bed, awake, for at least 15 minutes. That was fun, but I got bored. I also tried napping a few times. Then I couldn't get to sleep at night. Let's face it. I just can't sustain the effort it takes to relax. 

Does anyone know what the flowering plant in the foreground is called?
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30 comments:

  1. Emma SpringfieldApril 17, 2017 at 11:00 AM

    I'm sorry to hear that you can't take full advantage of your retirement. I have no problem at all. I still wake up a little earlier than I would like but I enjoy looking out my window to watch the birds or the difference in the trees at different times of the year. I can read for a while. Most days there is no reason for me to hop right out of bed and I love it. I worked for over 50 years plus raising 4 children. I enjoy my me time. As far as naps that is my real luxury. If I am not sleepy at a normal bedtime I just stay up a bit later or do some more reading. I hope you can get off the schedule if that's what you want.

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    1. ColetteApril 17, 2017 at 12:07 PM

      I do envy you that! I just don't seem able to relax.

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  2. AnonymousApril 17, 2017 at 11:03 AM

    Love this post! I still don't sleep past 6:00 am, but I have learned over the years how to relax. It comes on slowly, but pretty soon it will take no effort at all to just sit. Of course, it may be all the rain has conditioned me to such laziness!

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    1. ColetteApril 17, 2017 at 12:08 PM

      Good point about the rain. Here in Florida there is relentless sun! Constant stimulation.

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  3. YaelApril 17, 2017 at 11:44 AM

    I retiered 3 years ago and still wake up every morning at 6.00.

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    1. ColetteApril 17, 2017 at 12:08 PM

      My husband does, too. He's a morning person, though.

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  4. BohemianApril 17, 2017 at 12:40 PM

    Oh I just Love how you described it: "I just can't sustain the effort it takes to relax!" That so eloquently describes how I often Feel! My dilemma has been different, after too many years of working 2nd Shifts I just can't seem to alter the habit of staying up super late even tho' I know I have to get up super early to prepare The Force for School and transport them! {Often in my Pajamas, even tho' now I'm driving into the City with the Young Prince! Guess Old Habits die hard, huh? *LOL* Dawn... The Bohemian

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    1. ColetteApril 17, 2017 at 2:15 PM

      Where in the world do you get all that energy?

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  5. mollyApril 17, 2017 at 3:00 PM

    With 15 years between the births of my youngest and oldest child, I was always up early, making lunches, trying to verbally pry teenagers off beds to which they seemed to be stuck, shooing them out the door to catch school buses or playing taxi it is one of the biggest luxuries of life right now not to have to get up until I wake up! Growing up school started later than schools here and now I seem to have reverted to waking up at the same time I woke up then.
    Yoga might work for you. Done regularly, it quiets all that noise in your head, at least it does for me. You're retired so you have the time. Might make relaxing easier!

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    1. ColetteApril 17, 2017 at 3:36 PM

      Thanks Molly. And if I can figure out how to relax, maybe I'll start quilting again. I put the sewing machine up a couple months ago and haven't even put thread in the bobbin yet!

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  6. SabineApril 17, 2017 at 5:07 PM

    Staying in bed is rarely relaxing. It requires effort, no matter what you do.
    I don't have to get up early but I wake up anyway. For most of my married life I tried to encourage the man - who is always up before me - to bring me a cup of tea in bed but he thinks it's sinful or whatever, so I usually get up and pester him for a while before I go back to bed with said cup which then goes cold because I forget about it reading or listening to the radio. (If there is one thing he truly dislikes about me it is that.)

    I recommend messing about in a dressing gown, my in laws taught me that. Napping is overrated. Only works for (some) babies.

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    1. ColetteApril 17, 2017 at 6:07 PM

      Thanks. Reading in bed or listening to music (or news) sounds more like it.

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  7. Sandra CoxApril 17, 2017 at 7:53 PM

    How long have you been retired?

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  8. BirdieApril 17, 2017 at 11:10 PM

    I am a night owl and love sleeping in on my days off. Horror of horrors to think it might not be possible.

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    1. ColetteApril 18, 2017 at 8:32 AM

      If you can do it on your days off then you'll likely have no problem in retirement. It has been a hard thing for me to do most of my adult life.

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  9. Middle GirlApril 17, 2017 at 11:56 PM

    Oh I don't know, 7-7:30 vs 5-5:30 sounds luxurious to me. But then, I can only manage such a rising on Saturday or Sunday and then only if I managed to keep the pooch up well beyond her bedtime. ;-)

    I find that physical activity (strenuous) tires me and makes me groggy. When I took an exercise class early Saturday mornings, I often napped (rare, otherwise) when I came home. I found it did not impact my night sleep overmuch.

    I hope you find a solution, a balance that works for you.

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    1. ColetteApril 18, 2017 at 8:35 AM

      Well, see, it's all relevant. In fact, I AM sleeping in until 7-7:30, it's true. And I am not being awakened by a buzzer, thankfully. I think this might just be the way I'm wired. I'm OK with it, just kind of amused and bewildered.

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  10. 8thdayApril 18, 2017 at 9:11 AM

    Like you, I have retained my early rising habit after retirement, but I have no trouble then idling over a cup of coffee, taking a leisurely stroll with the dog, taking a nap or relaxing in a sauna. Mostly I just listen to my body - if it wants to rest, we rest. If it wants to move, we move. And the older I get the more the ratio skews to the resting side : )

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  11. Linda dApril 18, 2017 at 12:12 PM

    I struggle to stay in bed. So many things to do and see. Live needs living not sleeping.

    I think it needs cultivating...enjoying a luxurious lie in. Not sure I'll ever be able to though.

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  12. livApril 18, 2017 at 4:20 PM

    I've been retired for quite a while and I did the same thing for a long time, early rise. But I did it because I felt guilty that everyone else was working--geesh!

    Now I don't wake up so early because I go to bed so late, which isn't really very good for you either. But I wholly agree with Sabine, 'staying in bed is rarely relaxing, it requires effort'. And naps? Out of the question. But you sound fine to me and after being such a go getter for so long, it seems appropriate.

    I have no idea what that flowers is, but I love it. The little pods that pop out before they are flowers and the colors are magnificent. It's a happy flower, I hope it spreads.

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    1. ColetteApril 18, 2017 at 6:01 PM

      I've discovered it is a Dwarf Poinciana. It is a very happy flower that will become a shrub or a small tree (depending on how we prune it). I'm excited about it.

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    2. ColetteApril 18, 2017 at 6:03 PM

      Liv, I hope all's well with you.

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    3. livApril 20, 2017 at 2:36 PM

      I'm the Ever Ready Bunny, I just keep ticking along :)
      Thanks for asking, Colette.

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  13. Starting Over, Accepting Changes - MaybeApril 18, 2017 at 9:16 PM

    It has been five years of retirement and I still wake up at 5 am. Retirement is OK, but I wish sometimes that I still had a job. However, I am always happy on Mondays and I can stay in bed and not have to deal with any problems, including the traffic.

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    1. ColetteApril 19, 2017 at 8:21 AM

      There are some things I miss about working, too. I do political volunteer work now. That kind of satisfies my need to be useful. And I can do it whenever I want. That's the key - whenever I want. What I DON'T miss about working is the loss of control and lack of flexibility. Do you do any sort of volunteer work? You seem like someone who has a lot to offer.

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  14. AnonymousApril 25, 2017 at 8:21 PM

    I am retiring in a few days and pray I can sleep past the usual 5:30 am. The dwarf poinciana is also know as pride of Barbados.
    Xoxo
    Barbara

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    1. ColetteApril 26, 2017 at 8:32 AM

      Barbara, Congratulations on your retirement! Good to know about the dwarf poinciana.

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So, whadayathink?

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