Nocturnal by Necessity
Otherwise known as a being a Night Owl 🦉✨
Ah, nighttime—when the world sleeps, and I… do not. I often wonder why (and usually, when I’m trying to get to sleep). I have a few developing theories about this, but let’s start with a question I have for you, friend:
Are you a night owl by necessity or by choice?
For many of us, it’s a bit of both.
The struggle to get to bed at a reasonable hour is universal. What I wouldn’t give at times to have a physical on/off switch for my brain (tragic design flaw?—debatable for sure.) I won’t even get into the nightly challenge of getting the tiny human in my household to sleep. The brains of tiny humans are processing so much from their day (in our case, an 8-year-old and multiplication tables) that I suspect it must feel like their heads are full of Pop-Rocks!
Despite my best efforts—and the occasional grand declaration that tonight will be different—I remain, as ever, a night owl. Do I entirely dislike it? Not really. Should I make some changes for my health? Absolutely. Will I? …TBD.
Now, in the spirit of fun with some mild self-roasting (mingled with a bit of life-truth), here’s a list of reasons why I consider myself Nocturnal by Necessity:
🧒 Having a child under 10. Sleep? That’s cute. Instead, I have advanced extendable mom-ears, finely tuned to every bed creak, cough, sleepwalking adventure, toilet flush (hopefully followed by hand washing), and late-night snack heist.
🚺 Being a woman. No further explanation needed.
🔥 Being a woman over 40 (or in my case, 50). Still no further explanation needed.
🌡 Being a woman in menopause. Sleep cycles are now an old fantasy.
🔥🌡🧒 Being a woman over 40 (or 50), in menopause, with a child under 10. Now we’re talking about an Olympic-level sleep deprivation event.
🤯 The quiet house, allowing my brain to be LOUD. Suddenly, my mind wants to solve great mysteries such as:
How much will bananas cost now?
Did I save my Photoshop file before closing it?! (springs out of bed to check)
Did I move the laundry to the dryer? (does not spring out of bed to check)
🌜 The not-so-welcome-symphony of EVERY nocturnal critter that exists in my neighborhood. Do we live in a Ken Burns nature documentary during… but only at night, and perhaps mating season?
🚨 The tauntingly cheerful “I’m finished” song of the dishwasher. My spouse, in his infinite kind and thoughtful ways of helping, starts the wash cycle right before bed. Now, at 1:07 a.m., I get a BEEP BEEP BEEP announcing clean dishes I will absolutely not be putting away. I love him. I still do.
🔋 The anxiety-inducing chirp of a dying smoke alarm battery. Every 30 seconds. Cue frantic ladder climbing and whisper-shouting, “What madness prompted us to own a house with 12-foot ceilings?!”
📺 Binge-watching my favorite shows without providing real-time narration to my child… or spouse... or mom. Currently, I’m consuming a perfectly balanced mix of beach home renovations, gold mining, ancient history mysteries, and Bigfoot “researchers”.
🎨 Being an artist in an exciting new moment of growth. Creativity doesn’t clock out at 5 p.m., folks—it’s on call 24/7. And for some reason, at exactly 11:51 p.m., it insists on my full attention. Honestly, though? I really do love this one. It makes being a night owl almost 98% worth it.
So yep, I’m a night owl—sometimes by choice, mostly by circumstance… and occasionally by a highly questionable mid-afternoon snack decision (perhaps yogurt next time instead of chocolate-covered coffee beans?). But really, who needs sleep when you have Bigfoot and Photoshop to keep you going? Am I right? LOL.
Who else is up with me?
Until next time, sweet dreams—when you can get them.
xoxo, Robin zzzzzzzzz…
These are hilariously relatable. Great post!