In bible study this week we discussed our "life work." It was pointed out that we are often trained in the work we will do. An example of this was Moses' upbringing in the Egyptian palace. He was more educated and prepared to be a leader than any of the Hebrews, so naturally he was chosen to lead them. I have thought about this in terms of my own life and "life work" as a natural health advocate and Midwife. I am not a midwife yet, but I believe that is was I was born to be. God created and trained me to help women transition into new mothers naturally and safely.
My whole life I have been a night owl. It would tend to blame this on my lack of a strict bedtime when I was younger, but this really only applied to weekends. On school days I was in bed promptly at 8:30 and woke up at 6. But even on those nights, I would lie in bed restless for hours. This isn't normal for young children. As I've gotten older is has become more troubling. It makes me dread a normal 9-5 work schedule and morning classes. Grannie and Grandad frequently comment on my poor sleeping habits. I have seen it as something that needs to be corrected. But does it?
When I really reflect on my time at night, I realize that I treasure it. Everyone else is in bed, the house in quiet and I get to enjoy some real alone time. This is often the only time of day I turn the television on. I watch my favorite show, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and the humor allows me to relax and unwind. This is also the time that I am most likely to pray, do yoga or meditate. I like to have more space to move than that which is available in my room, so at night I can have the whole living room to myself. I also get more cleaning, organizing, and reading done late at night.
In my profession as a Doula and then Midwife, this "training" will come in handy. Birth professionals must be ready to keep any and all hours. I have been to births that started in the evening and lasted through the night more often than I have been to births that required me to wake up between 7 and 10am. So I will no longer take with me the burden of guilt and inadequacy for my abnormal sleeping schedule. I will, instead, embrace my differences and try to use my time wisely.
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I like being up late at night too, and for the same reasons you mention. I do that a lot in the summer. The problem for me is that I also don't like sleep in or taking naps/sleeping in the middle of the day. Now, since Philip sleeps in really late most Saturdays, I get that everything is quite, I have the whole place to myself feeling in the morning. Anyway, I think as a doula/midwife, it will serve you well to keep a sleep when you can, be productive when you are awake type schedule!
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