You are entirely too cheerful...

[donheff]

DW continues to work (because she wants to, not because she has to) so I get up and driver her to work on the days she goes in. This morning I was babbling about something as we sat in the kitchen reading the paper and drinking coffee. DW looked over and remarked, "you are entirely too cheerful for this hour of the morning." I had to laugh and admit that I was/am.

I was always a morning person but now I am even more so. I am curious about others. Do you wake up in a good mood? Is morning mood just a matter of constitution or does a change in circumstance, like ER, affect it?

[Mr._johngalt]

When I was a young man, I almost literally bounced out of bed singing.
Sometimes I would play Barbra S.' 'Don't Rain on my Parade'
at full blast (before my coffee) Now, I'm usually pissed off and cranky
regardless of the time of day.

JG

[Lusitan]

I don't know about ER yet, but I am much more of a morning person on Saturdays!

[Donzo]

I am totally a morning person. While working I was up by 6am - now I am up every day by 6:30am, make coffee read the paper read this forum etc. This is my quiet time DW and kids don't get up til almost 8am and later on weekends. At least once per week I fill a thermus w/ coffee and go fish the creek that borders my property.
I am in a good mood most of the time now

[CyclingInvestor]

Definite morning person. I usually worked about 0530 - 1330 my entire
career, plus or minus an hour, meaning I woke up at 0330 or 0400. I
woke up the same time on weekends out of habit. I still wake up at the
same time after a month of retirement, enjoying the solitude.

[FinanceDude]

I am a morning person, but also a night person. DW is terrible at mornings..........I hope when we ER she feels better about it, but if not, I'll have a LOT of extra time to play golf while she's sleeping........

[kcowan]

Definitely morning and getting energized (up by 5am). I try to wind down in the late afternoon. Usually comotose by 10-11pm.

ER made no difference except that I use the shower ritual as a divider between drinking morning coffee at home and going out.

Cheerful is a state of mind that we both maintain.

[Goonie]

I'm most certainly a morning person! Up by at least 5am....'cept on Sundays....I sleep in 'til about 5:30!!! I hit the pillows about midnight.....though I do sometimes take a siesta about 4:30pm for about an hour before supper. I do the same routine on vacations, too. I enjoy going to the restaurant around 6am, for a nice quiet breakfast before the rug-rats get there!

[LRS]

Sleeping in for me is 8 am. I don't really want more sleep from retirement, just more personal freedom.

[Mr._johngalt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tawny Dangle Sleeping in for me is 8 am. I don't really want more sleep from retirement, just more personal freedom.

My sleep habits have fluctuated wildly since I retired. I believe this is due to my marital difficulties. Anyway, I am sleeping fine now and just get up when I am ready. Sometimes it's 4 am and sometimes it's 9 am.
I don't have to be anywhere so it really doesn't matter.

JG

[AltaRed]

A morning person myself, but it is now a more respectable time of 7:15-7:45am rather than 5:30am when I worked. Gives me 1-2 hours of solitude before DW makes her appearance.

[Bob_Smith]

I'm totally a night person. I must force myself to go to bed at 4 AM. I sleep roughly 5 hours a day. It's after midnight right now - early evening for me.

Awhile back I was helping my much younger brother set up an accounting system for his business. Being a working man (and me being retired) he was pounding his chest about the late hours he worked... the implication being that I wouldn't be able to cut a long session of data entry; that I couldn't keep up with him. By midnight I was just hitting my stride. He was whimpering like a baby.

[BUM]

Hi Bob,

I remember those all nighters at work...trouble was that I was expected to work all the next day too. Sompin' not right with that.

Anyway I love to watch the sunrise. I'm usually up well before 6. Get my best thinking done early. The only problem, (if it is a problem) is that I surrender to sleep and go to bed around 9pm.

[Leonidas]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donheff I am curious about others. Do you wake up in a good mood? Is morning mood just a matter of constitution or does a change in circumstance, like ER, affect it?

As long as I got enough sleep the night before, I am cheerful and pleasant. However, If I'm tired you shouldn't engage me in conversation until I've had at least one cup of coffee.

This post made me realize that I wake up a lot earlier in ER than I did when I was working. Back then I never got up before 0900, but now I am generally up sometime between 0630 - 0800. No alarm clock except for the occasional early morning appointment - I just wake up when I feel like it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CyclingInvestor I usually worked about 0530 - 1330 my entire career, plus or minus an hour, meaning I woke up at 0330 or 0400. I woke up the same time on weekends out of habit. I still wake up at the same time after a month of retirement, enjoying the solitude.

I worked that shift for a couple of years - and never got used to it. It seemed like I was always tired. Came home in the afternoon, took a nap for an hour and was in bed by 2130 every night. My favorite shift was 1900-0300 - always busy and plenty to do. Woke up by 0900 every morning and had plenty of energy and never needed a nap.

[TromboneAl]

Looks like mostly morning people here -- maybe there's a correlation between early rising and early retiring [pun not initially intended].

[OkieTexan]

I am truly blessed. Both DW and I wake up in a good mood. Grouchy days are few and far between. My general mood has improved since ER. Friends have told me that I appear more relaxed. It certainly feels that way! Acid-reflux, sleep problems, and occasional headaches have gone. It surely must have been work-related.

I rose at 4:15 am for years to report to a job at 6:00am that was 22 miles away on the freeway. Today I rose at 6:00 am. The alarm clock's demise has done wonders for my disposition. The extra sleep helps, too.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donheff I was always a morning person but now I am even more so. I am curious about others. Do you wake up in a good mood? Is morning mood just a matter of constitution or does a change in circumstance, like ER, affect it?

Morning person. 4 AM, often earlier, sometimes as late as 5 AM. Of course that nooner 35-minute nap makes it all work. When I'm by myself then I tend to stay up later, 9:30-10:30 PM, and sleep in all the way to 5 AM... but spouse usually turns in early and I hate to miss being tucked in.

If I get to do the waking up then I'm in a good mood. If it's being done for me, especially via a smoke detector or the flooding/collision alarm, then the results are less than cheerful.

I've been an early riser forever so I think it's constitution. But in ER you have more control over when you get your sleep, so it's hypothetically possible that you could turn yourself into whatever wakeup kind of person you want to be.

[kcowan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords I've been an early riser forever so I think it's constitution. But in ER you have more control over when you get your sleep, so it's hypothetically possible that you could turn yourself into whatever wakeup kind of person you want to be.

During a stint in which I travelled to Manilla and Kuala Lumpur, I developed the ability to nap several times per day (often in taxis) in order to keep going in spite of short sleeping at night. It seemed to work although the locals were always amazed at my ability to nod off.

[Kitty]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr._johngalt My sleep habits have fluctuated wildly since I retired. I believe this is due to my marital difficulties. Anyway, I am sleeping fine now and just get up when I am ready. Sometimes it's 4 am and sometimes it's 9 am. I don't have to be anywhere so it really doesn't matter. JG

For twenty years I worked shift work and the shifts rotated every two weeks. I know what your thinking what neanderthal thought that up? Well it was a Law Enforcement job for our Gov. So, now that I am no longer on shift work I get up when I need to or want to depending on what has to been done that day.

My mood if not altered by health concerns is cheerful and
friendly at least from my point of view. I am in no hurry to do anything or to get upset/tense about anything. Those days are OVER

I am for the most part enjoying this retirement life and look forward to many more years of enjoyment.

Kitty

[Dreamer]

Well, I guess that I am the oddball. I am more a night person. I get up at 6:45AM to take my daughter to school. She will be in college next year and we are pushing for her to live in the dorm even though the college is here in our town. I have to force myself to stop and go to bed some nights. I can definitely get a second wind and keep going. I then do not like getting up early the next morning. Who knows what time I will get up next year. I am usually in a pretty good mood, unless DD starts pushing my buttons!