I skimmed an article a friend posted on Facebook (I couldn’t
find it again to link it) about why some parents tend to stay up late, even
when they want to get to bed early. The author admitted she stays up later than
she should and cites having little children as the reason. Not because the
children wake her up, but because the time between their bedtime and hers is
her only quiet, child-free time she has in any given day. She expressed being
willing to forgo sleep just for a little extra time to herself. And she has a
spouse, so I reason, she could push some of the adult responsibilities off onto
him (said through my single-lady lens).
This is totally me. I get only a brief two hours (at best!)
to myself at night. Two blissful hours where I can watch whatever I want on TV,
I can read or check my social media, without the distraction of small people
demanding my attention. I can even go to the bathroom all by myself! (usually,
unless a dog or cat wanders in) All too often those two hours don’t feel like
quite enough time to do the things I want to do and I end up forgoing sleep
just for a little more me time. It is worse on nights like one last week, when
Love Bug refused to stay asleep in his bed. He wanted to be with me but he
still wanted things on his terms and I refused. Sorry, not sorry, I am not
watching Peppa Pig, or playing tickle monster, or holding the cat, or getting
you a snack. You are intruding on my time and my measure of patience is quickly
wearing thin. I ended up giving up and going to bed, just so Love Bug would
sleep.
I pay a steep price for my nocturnal choices. I struggle
with waking up several times per night and I almost never wake up rested. I
really should do something about my sleep deficit, but it’s so hard when there
are so many things I would like to do uninterrupted. On average, if you don’t
factor in how long I’m awake at various points during the night, I get roughly
six hours of sleep per night. I’m supposed to get another hour or two, but it
seems nearly impossible for my night owl brain to get on board to a 10 pm
bedtime. I go to bed at 11, except sometimes I piddle around and don’t get into
bed until 11:30. My alarm is set for 6:20 (because I like to hit the snooze
button at least twice). There are simply not enough hours in a day!
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Oh yes, I can definitely relate. Honestly, there comes a point in the evening where I seriously am done “mom-ing” and need that time to myself, and get frustrated when bedtime for the little ones drags on and on. I used to tell my older kids, after 7:30pm I’m done with being a mom and that they can get whatever they needed themselves. (Unless they were truly sick or something. I’m not a monster!) I do have a spouse, but sometimes those couple hours are the only time alone we get to watch our shows, talk uninterrupted, or have sex! So it’s not like pawning stuff off on him would be a solution to “me” time. I do, however, try and sneak away for about 30 minutes when he gets home from work if I can, just to regroup for the evening.
ReplyDeleteI hear ya on needing to get more sleep. Sometimes I am good about it, but a couple weeks ago I really wanted to finish bingeing a Netflix show, so I stayed up past 1am, which is so stupid to do.
Sorry, I didn't mean to imply pawning things off on a partner to get more alone time at night. I meant, working together more to get things done so there will be enough alone time together... It made sense in my brain! I am always mad at myself the next day when I stay up too late. I suppose there really isn't much of a solution if you have kids!
DeleteI go to bed later than my husband quite often for exactly the same reason. Just an hour or two to myself!
ReplyDeleteI certainly don't think bedtime procrastination is unique to parents. Sometimes it's just hard to turn off the day and get into bed.
DeleteThis is my predicament, too! Those moments for just me are rare and treasured and even though I need sleep, it's hard to use them for sleep.
ReplyDelete