The Alarm Clocks Warning

I wonder if it's possible that anyone actually likes the sound of the alarm clock going off in the morning? I guess maybe on a special adventure/Disneyland kind of day it might be a happy sound, but I'm talking about a regular work/school/life kind of morning.

We have a very cool clock in our room. It shines the digital time on the ceiling so anytime in the night you can sneak a tiny little peek between your eyelids and catch a glimpse of the time. VERY little effort and then you can much more easily close them up and go right back to sleep. No rolling over necessary!

I found out recently that even in it's ease this clock causes a plethora of emotion for my husband.

He gets up very early for work each day. It's saves time on the commute because the number of folks on the road that early in the morning is far less than the number at times when regular people start their day.

This dictates a need for him to be in bed by 10:00. When he first looks at the clock as he crawls between the covers and discovers it's before 10 he feels great relief knowing he will get more than six hours of sleep. On the other hand if the clock shows it's after 10 when he climbs into bed that feeling of exhaustion is multiplied by the knowledge that the night will be short and the awakening painful.

Taking a peek in the dark of night thinking it might be time for the alarm and discovering that it's only 1:00am is peaceful joy and yet taking that peek at 3:55 brings fatigued sorrow with the knowledge that he only just beat his alarm.

Of course 3:55am on a Saturday holds a completely different sensation. Bliss. Banana Pancake kind of pleasure.

The emotions are especially exquisite in the summer time when nobody else in the house has to get up early. Night time in the summer is often the start of fun for teenagers. Kick the Can doesn't work during the day and movies are always more fun at night whether in the theater or on the couch. This can mean his sleep is compromised numerous times as different kids "check in" and others quietly hang out down stairs.

When said kids aren't home when expected that glance at the time brings anger, worry, and impatience hopefully soon followed by relief when you hear the sound of the garage door opening and the car pulling safely into its spot. Unless of course the sound you hear is that of the phone and someone asking to please stay out even later. That's when annoyance sets in. The word "No" is frequently put into practice at those times.

Once his sleep is disrupted, he has to start over on getting it back. I, on the other hand, don't have that problem at all. Maybe it's from years of waking up with babies in the night, but I don't have any problem being interrupted from sleep, saying good night and drifting right back into peaceful slumber.

The emotions a person journeys between in the course of a day can be many and varied and caused by a multitude of factors. At times even inanimate objects. An alarm clock being one of them. It can be a valuable tool although at times we may not value it's presence.