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alarm clocks
November 2009 
How do you like to be woken up?
Posted on Nov 10th, 2008
by 
tinkonthebrink
tinkonthebrink
This is in Response to the Questions and Reflections for November 10, 2008:
Maggie, our deaf dalmation, doesn't sleep in our bed. The reason she doesn't sleep in our bed is that she has a really exaggerated startle reflex because, since she doesn't hear, stuff sneaks up on her, and several times a night if she's in the bed one of us will bump into her and she'll wake up barking like a crazy thing and then I'll wake up screaming like a crazy thing and Krissy will wake up swearing and that's very unpleasant for all of us. For me, Maggie's night wakings and the alarm clock are about equal on the unpleasantness scale. If I could make the alarm clock sleep on the chair in the living room I would do it.
On my own I never set an alarm, I just decide what time I need to wake up before I go to sleep. But I think this carries a cost, and I tend to wake up several times a night and check the time. I think I don't sleep very well because I do this. Luckily, I rarely have mornings with deadlines at this point, so I can just wake up when I wake up, or just before Krissy's alarm goes off. Here there is a complication though. Krissy has I Will Never Answer Any Direct Question disorder, apparently because she was raised to be in the secret service, so the conversation goes like this:
me: What time is the alarm set for?
K: I don't have to be at work in the morning, I have a dentist's appointment.
me: Oh, okay, what time is the alarm set for?
K: My appointment isn't until 9:15
me: what time is the alarm set for?
K: It's only like a block from the office so I can just leave a few minutes early and drop your data off on my way.
me: Thank you. What time is the alarm set for?
and it continues in this way until I give up. She won't even break under torture. So this morning I just woke myself up at 5am and here I am.
I'm an early morning person anyway, so just waking up on my own usually works out. I don't think I've ever in my life overslept and missed a morning deadline, not even when I had to be at work at 630am and hadn't gone to sleep until 4, not even in the winter when the mornings are still dark. If I'm cozy and warm and snuggled in with Krissy and the bedroom dogs and I know we don't have to do anything in the morning, I can get myself to sleep in until 9 or so once in a while, but usually I'm not really sleeping, just enjoying being there. A lot of mornings, no matter how lovely our bed is, I wake up too excited to stay still and I have to get up. There is some part of me that's always expecting something wonderful to be going on somewhere around me, even if it's just seeing the sun come in the living room windows, and I don't want to miss it. My favorite way to wake up is to wake up remembering a dream and to rush to write it down - that happens more days than not - but what makes it all perfect is looking over at Krissy, who is always still soundly asleep, and the snuggly dogs and kitties and our cozy bed and starting each day taking all of that with me. And the snooze alarm gets to live one more day - but I'm thinking of putting the hammer next to it.
Access: Public
I have to share this with adam because I'm the snoozer and he's the light sleeper. but no animals were allowed in our bed for a long time. the cat has somehow adopted the place where my feet used to go since jordan moved away. she misses jordan. I am a sorry substitue for jordan, but she'll settle since she has to.
I enjoy your chatty QaR posts. :) I'm kind of fascinated by Maggie. I met a little deaf dog a couple months ago. Her people said she usually avoids people, but she liked T and I. Is Maggie very cautious around people?
Morning you two. I'm starting the next round of postcards this morning by the way. Dawn, we have multiple kitties but only two are bedroom sleepers because the others are sources of mayhem and disruption. But we do sleep with two sizeable dogs, and one of them tries to sleep up with us, head on pillows, between us on the bed. Under the covers. We're still negotiating with her.
Emma, Maggie was the most difficult dog to train ever. But against all odds she's now probably the most mellow and well-behaved dog in our pack of craziness. She loves people and is super friendly but she doesn't get to go places as often as the others because she has this obsession with alerting us to anything that moves (since she relies so much on sight, I'm guessing). So if she's in the car she spends the whole time flinging herself around and barking wildly because OMG LOOK THERE'S A BICYCLE MOVING. And when I go hiking I can't take her off leash because I have no way to call her back and I'm chicken. She might be fine but I'm way too risk-averse to chance it. But she takes advantage of every opportunity to charm people and I wouldn't use the word “cautious” in the same sentence with “Maggie” probably ever.
Oh, one thing I just thought to add though - if you encounter a deaf dog, don't pet them so that your hand cuts off their vision. I still sometimes forget about that with Maggie and she'll pull away if I do that.
with our dogs there's no negotiating. if I let them in my bed, I wouldn't get to sleep in it anymore. :-)
Very interesting doggie info!
Yay for postcards. :) I'm starting to think about my November postcards, too. Should we keep commenting on that postcard post or are we going to make your blog explode?
Great blog post… I feel like I was there.
Have a great day.
Hugs!
-Susan
Hi hi hi - hey Emma, I don't think my blog will explode but maybe once a month I should post a “postcard kiosk” post so we can talk about the current month? Might be easier. I'll give that a try.
Jeannie, thank you for starting my morning with such good humor. I love the mental picture of your menagerie cocooning with peace and comfort (after a little negotiation.)
I like that idea about the monthly post!
I get up by myself too,and get the waking up often to check time esp when I have to get up and am worried that I might actually sleep in for the first time in 44 yrs,still if it's really important I set my cell phone and place it by the pillow and i wake up before it goes off but forget to turn it off so the bugman is jolted outta sleep real quick by the sound of the loudest chimes and he sometimes gives me an accusing look. OMG we have a kitten his name is Cleo but now the children have started calling him Jefferson which was the original name( am convinced the cat doesn't even care),and I'm nattering virtually just to say screw the celly we now have this cat that bites and scratches our toes early in the morning. I want a dog like Maggie.
“Krissy has I Will Never Answer Any Direct Question disorder, apparently because she was raised to be in the secret service…”
After a day with much worry and little joy, reading your text was like a breath of fresh air and I laughed out loud sitting here on my own, reading this. Thanks Jeannie.
Bright the star's during a clear night
Opaque a half moon near translucent
Full the sky not a cloud in sight
Silent except for the cricket's chirp
Open her window she drift's off to sleep
Only to dream of a tomorrow so perfect
Jeannie…this is a riot (esp the part where you are not getting answers directly) but I can see it could be frustrating too…
I hate Prealarms, and alarms and all that shit. I like to sleep…and wish I could just wake up whenever I wanted to!
Sleep well…
Aley
monk - what a beautiful piece/peace of writing. yum!
and jeannie – I love that line about not answering direct questions too! I think jordan might be genetically inclined in that direction too. :-)
I'm logging off gaia now until I get a nasty chore done that I have been putting off for 4 years. I must do it now. I must not dawdle. it will make life better. I'll be back as soon as it's done. don't forget me. or… forget me not por favor.
xoxoxox
-d
-d
excellent blog Jeannie, i adore your sense of humor & have been back a couple of times for a good laugh…If push comes to show I am a snoozer on the rare occasions I have to wake up really early, which i don't like & therefore stress myself further by hitting snooze repeteadly to hear the annoying sound of alarm clock going off again & again.. i've lately taken to sleeping on my back to avoid those vertical sleeplines going permament on my face (yes i'm vain) & thus discovered a whole new concept, the natural alarm clock going off at all hours.. the sound of me snoring ;-)
thanks for this.
Oh Dawn, te amo siempre. Take your time and come back happy.Donny, I so want to kick your ass. What is up with showing up once in a blue moon and then vanishing? If you were close enough we'd be on for fight club.