Oh, Gawd...DAY SHIFT!!

[Spiky Bugger]

The thing is...our daughter lives with her boyfriend. (They seem to be a long term thing and she has good reason$ for not marrying the lad at this point, so it is what it is.) He is divorced and has a 7-year-old daughter, and every other week custody.

He used to work human hours, but now he has to start at 6:30 am because an East Coast account loves him. And MiniSue, who works at a 24/7 kind of place, has been on "swing shift" and before that "graveyard shift" for quite a while. But that is changing in three weeks, when she moves to "day shift," 6:00 am to 2:30 pm. It is a good hour drive each way to her job.

So...if she leaves the house at 4:30 am and he leaves at 6:00 am, and the before school care starts at 6:45 am and you see where this is going, right? Especially because we live two blocks from the school.

In order to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed by 6:00 am when Daddy drops her off, we have to get up in the WEE SMALLS. Which means we can watch most of Morning Joe live, instead of delayed. But DAMN!! Now we have to go to bed VERY early.

Grumble, growl...but it IS fun hanging with a 2nd grader!

 

[southernlady]

I feel for you. I can't human that early.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

I can...but have to have a two hour head start to get there.

 

[DianaCox]

The 2-7 AM hours don't actually exist, do they? They are just for stumbling to the bathroom to pee.

I did that shift once, for a few months. It damned near killed me. I am not wired to be an early riser.

 

[JackieOnLine]

it IS fun hanging with a 2nd grader!

photos?

 

[southernlady]

The 2-7 AM hours don't actually exist, do they? They are just for stumbling to the bathroom to pee.

I did that shift once, for a few months. It damned near killed me. I am not wired to be an early riser.

Yeah, they do. I did graveyard for many years (before I got married). Then in the two years before I got married I did 9-5 thru the week, and early morning on Sat to have every Sun off. I got in about 3AM and was done by 10AM.

Now, I'm in your boat...those hours are just to get up to pee.

 

[JackieOnLine]

you know that cliche about old people eating at the early bird special? that's been me for awhile now and I'm only 55.

I have trouble sleeping past 5 in the summer!

 

[southernlady]

you know that cliche about old people eating at the early bird special? that's been me for awhile now and I'm only 55.

I have trouble sleeping past 5 in the summer!

Us too. But 5 here is 7 according to my body clock which is still adjusting from Eastern time.

 

[JackieOnLine]

I swear I have NEVER adjusted to Pacific time and it's been 3 years and more

 

[k9ophile]

Ugh! Certified night owl here. I feel your pain.

My service group does a safety presentation for K and 2nd grade students. We use puppets and costumes. Those kids are hilarious

 

[hilary1617]

I'm a total night owl and understand your pain. The struggle is real!

 

[harrietvane]

I'm up at 5 every day no matter what... It's the evening I can't stay awake for!

 

[Ray_Of_Fricken_Sunshine]

I've always been a night person! They said as an infant, I had my days and nights confused, and it was never fully corrected! Usually, if I have to be up super early for something, I find it easier to stay up rather than go to sleep and wake up early. If my life depended on my ability to hear an alarm and get up early, I'd be long gone!!

 

[KathrynK]

I have to watch Trevor Noah and Steven Colbert, so my bedtime is not optional. What I would do: wear respectable pajamas, be awakened by the doorbell, roll out of bed to greet the little one. Kids don't need you to be bright-eyed and bushy tailed. They understand groggy. Get dressed while she eats breakfast or plays on the iPad and then have your quality time with her.

BTW. I know many more couples living together, having been through a divorce. Your daughter is wise to do what works. My son divorced, paid a huge settlement from his inheritance, and now lives with his serious girlfriend and won't be getting married again anytime soon. There needs to be a better name than boyfriend/girlfriend lover/roommate/partner for these serious relationships. His first one was a WINO ('wife in name only' and the other meaning too). The new one is a keeper but 'girlfriend' doesn't seem to describe their relationship, which is very committed.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

I have to watch Trevor Noah and Steven Colbert, so my bedtime is not optional. What I would do: wear respectable pajamas, be awakened by the doorbell, roll out of bed to greet the little one. Kids don't need you to be bright-eyed and bushy tailed. They understand groggy. Get dressed while she eats breakfast or plays on the iPad and then have your quality time with her.

BTW. I know many more couples living together, having been through a divorce. Your daughter is wise to do what works. My son divorced, paid a huge settlement from his inheritance, and now lives with his serious girlfriend and won't be getting married again anytime soon. There needs to be a better name than boyfriend/girlfriend lover/roommate/partner for these serious relationships. His first one was a WINO ('wife in name only' and the other meaning too). The new one is a keeper but 'girlfriend' doesn't seem to describe their relationship, which is very committed.

For a while, it was POSSLQ...Person of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters. Not sure why that term died.

Yea...these seem committed, too. They met in HS, just friends, were in two weddings together because of mutual friends, wandered off in different directions. Connected 20+ years later. They discuss how they should handle retirement planning. Right now, she will either marry him or add him as a domestic partner about a year prior to retirement, so that he is covered. But, because divorces happen, she is not putting herself in a position to share her excellent retirement benefits with someone who does not have a similar retirement plan AND if they were to marry, her income--a bit greater than his--would have to be reported on the FAFSA form kids use for college financial aid, which is stupid because it's not her kid and her money isn't part if the child's child support calculations....but the child would qualify for less financial assistance. Dumb.