早起者的自白　Confessions of a Morning Person

I love the sweet smell of dawn-our unique daily opportunity to smell time, to smell opportunity-each morning being, a new beginning.

～Emme Woodhull-Bäche

It happened again today. I found myself apologizing to someone for being too perky in the morning.It wasn't even that early.I called a client at 9：00 A.M.-after watching the clock until precisely 8：59 and 59 seconds, which I figured was late enough to make a business call.I jumped into the conversation with a bit too much enthusiasm, I suppose, because my client responded with，“Whoa, you are WAY too awake for this time of morning.”

I didn't tell her I'd been up for five hours and had already run two miles, answered a bunch of e-mail, studied my Bible, got four kids up, fed, dressed and off to school, done a batch of wash and weeded my herb garden. I especially didn't tell her I got up that early because I wanted to.

That hasn't always been the case. Motherhood did this to me.When my husband and I were first married, he was much more coherent in the wee hours.I'd force myself out of bed after the fifth assault of the alarm clock and relocate to the cold, hard bathroom floor desperate for a few seconds more sleep but knowing I'd be miserable enough on the floor to relent and stagger toward the shower.

Then we brought home that first little squalling bundle and my sleep habits were rearranged. We'd wanted a baby for so long that, and each time I heard the glorious sound of Haley O'Hara crying for another feeding, I was determined to respond with an eager, happy face no matter how sleep deprived I was.

I never wanted her or the three babies who followed to feel that they were disturbing me or were a burden at whatever hour they decided was morning. I determined I'd be 100%Mom as soon as they called me into action.

But the real metamorphosis didn't occur until I stumbled upon a secret.

Because I was lucky enough to make raising my kids a full-time gig, our routine tended to be pretty loosey goosey. We got up when we felt like it（okay, when they felt like it）and went to bed when we were tired of being awake.

We woke up together. We went to bed together.We grocery-shopped, ran errands, ate, played and bathed together.We did everything together.Life was grand.

Then one day I realized that, if I could only make myself get up an hour before my kids, I could have sixty minutes alone in my own home-something I hadn't experienced in years.

The first day was intoxicating. I could serve myself a cup of coffee and drink it while it was still hot.I could write a letter and keep my mind on what I wanted to say.Most of my letters at that time consisted of disconnected thoughts written with two or three different pens whenever I could grab a minute, usually perched on the edge of the sandbox or sitting on the floor beside the bathtub where the kids were temporarily distracted by bubbles.

But in my stolen hour, I could read a book, exercise, listen to grown-up music and eat a leisurely breakfast. I could coax one of the cats to snuggle in my lap rather than hunker by the food bowl with one eye on whichever preschooler might decide he'd enjoy some dress-up clothes.

Even if I used my time to do laundry or wash dishes, it felt indulgent to be doing it in complete solitude. I could begin a task and see it through to completion without stopping and starting it fifteen times.I could sneak in a bath all by myself without an audience or running commentary.I bought myself grown-up bath products and adult breakfast foods-aromatherapy and English muffins, hot oil treatments and lemon curd.

I had no idea how starved I'd become for my own company and quickly honed skills that will serve me well if I ever decide to become a cat burglar. I can do anything soundlessly if it means I get to do it alone.Of course, before long, an hour wasn't enough, so I got up two hours earlier, then three and sometimes four.

More than a decade has passed since that epiphany. The kids are teenagers now and having their own morning wrangle with the snooze alarm.But I've kept my early hours to myself.I've changed my title from stay-at-home mom to work-at-home mom（from SAHM to WAHM），but that first hour or two of the morning is still my favorite time.Most days I accomplish more between 4：00 A.M.and 6：00 A.M.-when the kids wake up to sing a few bars of Mom, I need……Mom, I want……and Mom, I gotta' have……-then I do between 6：00 and bedtime.

Even though they're taller than I am, I still like the idea of my kids waking up to a pleasant mama. And after a brisk run with the dogs, some quality time with the cats, my daily Bible study, a little e-mail interaction and as much coffee as I care to drink, I'm far more chipper than my husband or kids-or my clients-would like me to be.

So that's it. That's my dirty little secret.I get up early and I like it. Besides if I ever consider a career change, I'd make one heck of a good cat burglar.

～Mimi Greenwood Knight

我爱黎明前的芳香——

每天独一无二的机会嗅出时间的味道，

嗅出机遇的味道——

每天早晨，都是崭新的开始。

——艾玛·伍德哈尔·贝莎

今天又是这样。我又因为在早晨过于活力四射而向别人道歉。其实也没有很早。早上九点时，我给一位客户打电话——我看着时钟走到8点59分59秒后才拨通电话，觉得那时候打工作电话应该够晚了。我直接切入主题时可能过于兴奋，因为客户的反应是：“哇噻，早上这个时候就打电话，精神够好的啊！”

我没有告诉她，其实我已经起床五小时了，跑步都跑了两英里多了，回复了一堆邮件，研读了一会儿《圣经》，叫四个孩子起床，给他们准备早餐、穿衣服，把孩子送到学校，又回来洗了洗东西，给香草园除了除草。我更没有告诉客户，起那么早是因为自己愿意。

没生孩子之前我可不是这样的。我和丈夫刚结婚时，丈夫在凌晨可比我清醒多了。我总要等闹钟响过五遍之后，才不情愿地逼自己爬起来，踩在冰冷坚硬的卫生间地板上，渴望能再多眯一会儿。我知道，自己只能站在浴室地板上向现实低头，还得迈着摇晃的步子去冲个澡。

然后，我们迎来了第一个大哭大闹的宝宝，于是，我的睡眠习惯发生了翻天覆地的变化。我们一直都想要个宝宝，所以，每次听到女儿哭着又要喝奶时，我都会下定决心，就是自己再困，也要赶紧笑脸相对。

我不想让她和后来生的三个孩子觉得他们打扰了我，或者觉得自己成为我早晨的负担。我暗下决心，只要他们需要我，我就全身心投入，当一个模范妈妈。

但直到我偶然发现一个秘密时，一切才有了质的变化。

由于我很幸运，可以把照顾孩子当做全职工作，所以日子过得相当轻松惬意。我们想什么时候起就什么时候起（好吧，其实是由孩子决定的），什么时候累得不行了，我们才上床睡觉。

我和孩子一起起床，一起睡觉，一起去杂货店购物，一起处理杂务，一起吃饭，一起嬉戏，还一起洗澡。做什么事情我们都在一起，生活很美妙。

有一天我突然意识到，如果每天比孩子早起一小时，就有60分钟可以在家处理自己的事情——已经好几年没有这样的经历了。

第一天我兴奋不已。我给自己煮了杯咖啡，咖啡还烫着呢，就迫不及待地喝了起来。我终于可以一心一意地写信，全神贯注地写下我想说的内容。之前大部分的时间里，我都是断断续续地写信，只要有一分钟空闲，就随便抓起不同的笔写下断断续续的感想。我一般都坐在沙箱的边缘，或者坐在浴缸边的地板上写信，那时孩子常常和泡泡玩得不亦乐乎，暂时不会吵闹。

在我早上偷闲的时光里，我可以读读书，做做运动，听听成年人的音乐，悠闲地吃一顿早餐。我也可以好好逗逗家里的猫咪，让它舒舒服服地蜷缩在我的大腿上，而不是像往常那样一边狼吞虎咽地吃早餐，一边还得随时注意我的几个孩子。这几个小淘气，随时可能把刚刚换好的衣服弄脏。

在这段时间，即使洗洗洗衣服或者刷刷盘子，我也觉得独自一人做这些事情是莫大的享受。我可以一气呵成做好一件事，而不用断断续续的15次才能最终完成。我可以悄悄地洗个澡，没有“观众”，也没有喋喋不休的“解说”。我为自己买了一些成人沐浴产品和成人早餐——香薰和英式松饼、焗油护理和柠檬酪。

我不知道内心到底多渴望留出点时间给自己。我很快锻炼得身手敏捷，如果想要当一个飞贼，这一身本领真是再适合不过了。如果要独自解决什么事情，我肯定轻手轻脚地就能全部搞定。当然了，不久之后，一小时都不够用了，所以我提前两小时起床，后来又变成三小时，有时甚至提前四小时。

自从这种情况出现后，时间已经过去十多个年头了。现在，孩子都成了十几岁的青少年，都会和自己的闹钟“作斗争”了。但我还是坚持着早起几小时的习惯。我把自己的头衔从“在家赋闲”的妈妈改成“在家工作”的妈妈。不过，每天早上的头一小时或者两小时仍然是我的最爱。大部分日子里，我在早上四点到六点之间更有效率。而过完六点，孩子们就起来了，他们醒来就开始哼哼唧唧说道，妈咪，我要……妈咪，我想……妈咪，我必须……

虽然孩子的个子比我还高，但我依旧想让孩子醒来时见到和蔼可亲的妈咪。早上我会和狗狗悠闲地跑跑步，和猫咪好好地玩一会儿，研读一下《圣经》，写几封邮件，想喝多少咖啡就喝多少，这样一来，我每天都心情愉悦、神清气爽，超出了丈夫、孩子，甚至客户对我的期待。

所以，事情就是这样，这就是我不可告人的小秘密。我喜欢早起。哦，对了，如果我真要考虑换个工作的话，恐怕那些优秀的飞贼都要对我侧目了。

——米米·格林伍德·奈特

Cartoon#5　Reprinted by permission of Off the Mark and Mark Parisi.?1999　Mark Parisi.

①“天气多好啊！阳光灿烂！蜜蜂嗡嗡叫！我们去爬一爬棚架吧！”　②“我迫不得已嫁给了牵牛花……”