Meeting After Midnight Like We Do

This beautiful photo of Stockholm is by Diesmali.

Like everyone else I'm sure, I feel like there is never enough time. When I finally find a few minutes for myself, it's late. Or it's very early or it's the middle of the night. I never sleep all the way through anymore. There is always something to check. No matter how little sleep I've had, I wake up alert and ready to function now, not in a fog like I used to. That's a huge change- the completely unconscious, unending vigilance of motherhood.

But then sometimes when I'm up, it's nice. I have the house to myself and I can do whatever I want. Well, almost. Headphones and a flashlight and quiet movements and it works. I can see the city lights below from the front window and I love that. I think of the cover of Surf each time. It's a nice time to be up and doing things, writing or reading or listening. It's special and private and mine. It's important to me.

I start thinking about how hard that mouse had to work
night after night collecting all these things
while the people in the house were fast asleep
(From Workshop by Billy Collins)

It's hard to say which is more important, getting enough sleep or getting enough time. I guess it all depends on which need is most pressing at the moment.

When or where do you do your best thinking/reading/writing? How do you steal time?

Comments

[FiL]

Ah yes, how does one fit it all in? What does one sacrifice?

Round here, it is most often (like now) sleep that is left disregarded in some tenebrous corner, petulantly flailing its arms. But if I ignore it for too long, I find myself crabby, jittery, and weak of spirit. Which is no good for anyone...

I find my most inspiring moments usually come in the least congruous places; showers, at the children's swimming lessons, in the gym, in some soul-destroying meeting. Then it's always a challenge to seize and preserve them until they can be properly documented.

And Stockholm - what a wonderful, lovely city! And so very child-friendly as well. Indeed, Sweden is a magical land.

[iliana]

I've no advice on this one but just wanted to say I know what you mean. I am always complaining about not having enough time for all the things I want to do. What's worse is that sometimes I just get so overwhelmed and end up doing nothing. Ugh. Perhaps I need a course on organization skills :)

[opentop]

I learned to get by on about 5 hours sleep a night when the kids were young and have stuck with that since as a way of finding time. The downside is a tendency to fall asleep whenever I sit down with nothing specific to do, which is fine on the train but troublesome in a meeting. Walking (and listening) is my most productive time - things write themselves in my head and I fight to hold onto them until I can get them down.

[Greer]

I love the responses to this. So nice to know that I am not alone, even at 3am.

FiL- I had to look tenebrous up in the dictionary. What a great word. I too find that putting off sleep only works for so long... and then it doesn't work at all :). I haven't been to Stockholm in many years but last year we went to Denmark and I think Scandinavia in general is a wonderful place to travel with children. Everywhere we went, people were so helpful and seemed to truly welcome and enjoy the little ones.

Iliana, I an so surprised because you seem to read about 100 books a week, plus make your own gorgeous creations! I think doing nothing, or spacing out as I like to call it, also has benefits :). That's what I tell myself anyway.

Opentop, walks are good for me too and then it is indeed a challenge to remember all the ideas and thoughts until I can get to a notebook. Listening to music is great too, certain song lyrics get my mind racing.

Thanks so much for the comments, everyone.

[Melissa Donovan]

Let's see. I do my business writing downstairs in an office. Sometimes I do creative writing there too, but I prefer to do the creative stuff upstairs in my room. However, it's all in my head -- the words and the writing, I mean. So I can do it just about anywhere if I have to. I just need quiet.

[Greer]

Hi Melissa, Interesting how you tend to do the creative and the business in different spaces- makes sense.

[mjrc]

i used to sleep in as long as humanly possible but as you say, the onset of motherhood changes all those things. now, many years later, i find i am most enamored of the early morning hour when my kids are still asleep and i can sit with my coffee at the computer and write and read in peace.

i also find the shower a fertile time to think and be alone, which is bad for my water bill and the environment, but it pretty much guarantees me time alone. :)

oh, and then there's driving and working out.

geez, at first i would have said that i didn't get enough alone time, but when you look at it this way, it seems i have plenty! so i can't complain. but i do treasure it.

[Greer]

Hi Marcy, I am with you on the shower even though I know it's bad ;). And I also agree that early morning is such a nice time. We're still in the unpredictable sleep stage here so I can't really get into a routine with it, but it's nice when I can manage it.