The night owl and the early bird

I usually go to sleep after two in the morning – often after three. (Sometimes, if I’m too far into a novel to stop reading until I’ve finished it, after four.) He gets up at the crack of dawn – in the winter before dawn’s even thinking of cracking.

I managed throughout almost my entire working life, thanks to staggered hours, to never have to get up in the dark. This is something I have only done when there’s a plane to catch. There are no other circumstances under which I would get out of bed before the sun puts in an appearance.

So, no greater love can a night owl show an early bird than to say, “Sure, I’ll get up in the dark in order to take you to town for an eye appointment that requires you have someone to drive you home.”

The day before I try setting the alarm for eight in the morning – just to get myself up earlier than I normally would. I sleep through the alarm. “You’re going to have to phone me at seven tomorrow,” I tell him. “The alarm will not wake me up.”

He agrees to do this. “What if the phone doesn’t wake you up?” he asks.

Hmm, I think. It should. Shouldn’t it? “Maybe you better come over here at seven and wake me up in person,” I say. He agrees. This will mean him getting up at 5:30 so he has time to have a coffee and take the dogs for a walk before coming here. But he does often get up at 5:30, so not a problem.

Bit nerve wracking to leave the door unlocked when I go to bed, but I do. (I never used to lock the door at night, but that was before a wanker walked into the house in the middle of the night and stole my bag off the kitchen counter. Story for another day, perhaps.)

And I have to say, if one absolutely must be awakened whilst it is still dark outside (for god’s sake), it does help if it is by someone singing a cheerful little good morning song, who offers some back tickles before heading to the kitchen to make a cappuccino.

I did it! I got up in the dark and managed to drive us to the ferry and on to the eye appointment. Score one for the night owl. (Okay, with considerable assistance from the early bird.)