to think getting up early isn't an indication of moral superiority?

[MaryJObliged]

I do get up early most days (between 6 and 6:30am) so I have time to walk the dog and go to the gym before my long commute to work or so I get more time to work when I work from home. But I've never seen this as some kind of positive side to my character or indication of my moral superiority. I just do it because it's practical for my life.

My mother, however, is of the opinion that people who "lounge around" in bed until 7 or 8am are lazy bastards who don't know that they're missing the best time of the day. When she comes to stay on weekends she'll stand at my living room window first thing (say about 8-8:30am) commenting on all the drawn curtains and the lazy buggers asleep when they could be cracking on with accomplishing things.

This is a very odd attitude to me but I've found quite a few people in my life share this perspective. Am I being unreasonable? Or am I, in fact, morally superior because of my early mornings ?

I don't think being up early is moral superiority. Being on time is in my view though.

I naturally wake up with the dawn. So, super early in summer, later in winter. Am I experiencing some kind of seasonal moral decay?

I'm a night owl and usually don't go to bed until 12:30-1 on a school night. It can be 2 or 3 on weekends.
Luckily my DC are old enough now to sort out their own breakfasts and get themselves to school so I just half wake and wave them off at 8am before going back to bed for a bit.

I work shifts of 6-10, 4-10 or 3-10 though, so my relaxing evenings in front of the telly are when everyone else is thinking of bed.

I always have people asking how I can work that late but it suits me perfectly, there's no way I could get to work for 9am, getting the DC to school when they were younger was practically torture.

I think, OP, it is time for you to put on your smug face and tell your mum that only disgusting slobs snooze in front of the TV and know nothing about "sleep hygiene."

YANBU; I HATE the whole moral superiority thing about getting up early.

And family members who ask 'did I wake you' when you answer the phone as a pp mentioned and you just know they're judging you.

Personally I don't see the point of getting up early on a weekend if I have no plan and don't feel like it. I work and do activities all week and don't see why I should be judged on my wknd lie ins as it doesn't affect anyone else.

My DF is like this and always wants to rush about in the mornings. When me and DP visit, we're always all out of things to do mid afternoon and then we end up just sitting around the house awkwardly. I always think why not just get up more slowly and then by the time you'd done whatever outing/activity you're going to do that day it will be time to start cooking tea.

YANBU OP, at all! I'm a total early bird but that's because I love mornings, especially living in Caribbean where it's always warm and most of the time its sunny.

This morning I was up at 5.15am, went for a 3 mile run whilst watching the sunrise, and then meditated outside. This is how I like to start my day generally and I usually aim to be in bed by 10pm (but often more 10.30-11pm).

However at weekends, I stay up late and would love to sleep past 8am if my kids would let me.

I'm really a lark because it's the only time I get to myself to breathe, decompress, exercise and generally let my mind wander! The 90 minutes between 5-6.30am are sacred I also, sure as shit, won't be doing any cleaning!

In fairness, life starts earlier here, my 5 year old's school day starts at 7.55, my work day starts at 8.30am although I'm usually in office by 7.45am.

So it probably helps that we're early birds. No moral superiority here though, I envy people who can stay up late!

Night owl here too, I'd happily stay up until the wee small hours and sleep in late. DH is a lark so we work perfectly together.
I started working night shifts a year ago and it's been a revalation - I don't know why I didn't think of it years ago. Shame my job is on shaky ground, I'd happily work nights forever. I think it would kill my DH - he's a '10pm is bedtime' kind of chap

Stroke Very jealous of you living in the Caribbean. I used to live in Castries in St Lucia. It was amazing.

Isn't the moral superiority aspect basically a hangover from the mid-Victorian period where vast swathes of the population were agricultural labourers and nobody had electric lights - so you all got up at 5am to get the cows in and went to bed when it got dark, so as not to waste candles/because you were shattered after lots of physical labour. There was no opportunity to shift your personal day because you wouldn't be able to see what you were doing or work outside with the other people at your job - so if you missed part of the daylight hours you actually were wasting a finite resource, especially in winter.

Ooooh MaryJObliged I've heard amazing things about St. Lucia - I'm in Cayman Islands which are beautiful but very very flat. Which makes things great for 5am runs I guess!

For sure if I still lived in London, there's no way I'd be getting up at 5am.

Closed curtains don't mean someone is still in bed. Where I used to live we had no front garden so I usually left the blinds and curtains closed so nosy people wouldn't look in. Also kept the house cooler in the summer.

I'll stay in bed as long as I can though. I was hoping to stay in bed until 8.30 this morning but DS woke me at 7 Back before I had him I would often stay in bed until after 10 on weekends, I think it's the only thing I miss.

I can't stand people who moan if you're not ready to go out by noon and say "half the day is gone". No, about 5 hours of the day is gone, and that's only if you get up at silly o clock on a weekend!

Morally superior? They should bore off.

Your Mum is also assuming that none of your neighbours are Doctors, Nurses, firemen etc who do night shifts?

In a hot country I can understand it more. I used to live in Italy and work with horses. We used to get up early, get all the horses ridden and jobs done by 11am, but we then had an early lunch and a siesta until 4pm. We'd then work until mid evening teaching and have a late meal and go to bed late. I quite liked that system, it was the best of both worlds. I used to love the siestas.

Yeah, St Lucia was gorgeous. On rainy, cold days like this I wonder what the fuck I'm doing in the UK

Best Interesting. So actually I guess the idea of "wasting the day" had some traction at some point. Maybe not in 2017 though

Angelo Yes, exactly. And she used to do night shifts herself. Insane.

Stroke I used to live in Cayman! Often think of going back........

I start my day at 04:30 as this is when DD wakes up. But given the choice I would get up around 07:00. 7/8am isn't getting up late. Is getting up really late lazy? Maybe, maybe not. Personally if I got up at say 10:30/11:00 I would feel like I'd missed out on quite a bit of the day. What other people do is their business and probably nothing to do with loose morals lol

My FIL is the same, thinks people are lazy for getting up after 6/7am even though he sleeps during the day and goes to bed really early.. My DP (before kids) was a late riser but a nightowl and always got so much work done later on, cue endless criticism from his dad. Arsehole!

It's not? But that is the only thing in my life I can feel morally superior about.

Seriously, the idea that early rising is a sign of moral superiority is obviously mad. I'm an early bird in a family of night owls. But like a PP, I absolutely relish that time on my own. If everyone were to get up early, I'm quite certain I wouldn't care for it.

Ha, this thread has made me realise that I hate this moral superiority at being an early riser too. At work recently we were talking about what time we all had to get up for a flight and a colleague said "well I got up at 5.45am the same time as I do every day". It was the assumption that she was unique and superior and different from everyone else in the room, which she wasn't at all.

Another colleague always makes a point of saying he gets in at 7.30am and no-one is there. So what? I get in at 8.30am and would be in 2 hours earlier if my commute wasn't so long. I just don't feel the need to tell people as it really doesn't matter.

People who make a point of this I think are trying to justify something to themselves. The ones who talk about their 5.30am start on facebook are attention seekers and obviously don't do it everyday otherwise they wouldn't feel the need to post about it.

Didnt realise it wound me up so much!!

'Stroke I used to live in Cayman! Often think of going back........'

Gawd, why?! SO fucking hot in Summer. Flat as a pancake, too. Went once. That was enough.

Ha ha Expat I love the heat. Don't take my cardi and boots off until it's over 25 degrees!!

It is very flat but I enjoyed living there. The local people were lovely to work with - and I was ALWAYS WARM!!!