Using a Time-Turner?

Yesterday, I managed to sleep in AND get an early morning run. How is that possible?

It's all in your perception, my friend. The key is that my definition of "sleeping in" has changed significantly over the past year. Nowadays, I consider sleeping in to be anything past when Eleanor wakes up. So if Eleanor starts chattering away at 6am, but Keith gets up with her so I can sleep until 6:3o ... that counts as sleeping in! Because I know that I got bonus sleep.

On Sunday, Eleanor did indeed wake up at 6 o'clock, happy and alert. Happy is always good, but 6 o'clock was EARLY. Especially since she didn't go to be until after 9 o'clock the night before—when her normal bedtime is 8pm. I felt bad for Keith, but reveled in the feeling of snuggling back under the covers. Every once in a while, the sound of Eleanor's laughter or Keith's talking filtered back up, past the covers, into my dreams. But I knew she was happy and being taken good care of, so I went right back to sleep.

I was planning on sleeping in until 7 ... I rolled over and looked at the clock at 7:12. I told myself I should really get up .... but then Gomez came and laid on me. So I didn't actually get up until 7:30.

So that is how I "slept in" until 7:30. It felt restful and decadent. And then I got dressed and was out the door around 8 o'clock for 5-mile run with Beckett. I love running in the morning, and I so rarely get to do it anymore. Being out before everyone is up, the cool weather, the morning sunshine, knowing that your run is under your belt and you can face the rest of the day with a good conscience.

99.9% of the time, I complain about how being a mother means I have no time to myself. But this is one way that having Eleanor around makes it seem like I have more time. Or I guess it just means that I value my time much more highly. I love that getting out of bed before 8 o'clock can seem like a treat, but I still have the rest of the day, stretching ahead of me.