Night owls and early birds
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As young kids, most of us were up at 6 am, raring to go on weekend mornings. As teenagers, many of us slept in until late morning or noon. But people are different. Some love Marmite, some hate it. As adults, we start finding what works best for us. And it’s not necessarily the same as, or what works best for, our partners.
It struck me that I know a lot of couples, us included, who are night-owl/early-bird combos.
One of the couple naturally wakes at dawn and tiptoes out of bed. They’ve usually managed a host of morning peaceful time, exercise or chores before the night owl surfaces, often bleary-eyed.
And while the early bird crashes out in the evening, maybe falling asleep on the sofa, the night owl is often just getting going, hitting their productive stride, staying out, or watching late-night TV, before tiptoeing into bed next to the sleeping early bird.
Of course, we notice and talk about the differences. So perhaps there are a host of early-bird couples and night-owl couples. But eventually we all settle into the rhythms that work best for us, and I’m pretty sure I see a lot of opposites.
I can’t help wishing I were naturally an early bird on the same schedule as my wife. But perhaps it’s a combo that creates time for both partners and secretly a recipe for success?
As Kahlil Gibran wrote in The Prophet :
"And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow."
Are you a night owl living with an early bird, or vice versa? How do you make it work for you?
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