Clock-free Kids Alarm
My tenth floor aerie overlooks a very busy street, a row of heritage houses, another street over of heritage houses, and- three streets away- an elementary schoolyard. It is thus that I have a clock-free way of telling time during the schoolyear, which is: Kids, Kids, and Kids. Or, more specifically, Kids I, Kids II, and Kids III.
Kids I happens around 8am during the week. You hear the distant howls and laughter of the kids as they play in the yard before school goes in. (This actually perplexes mildly- I remember arriving at school on time and going straight into the classroom. Maybe this is a phenomenon of modern parents having to drop off their kids early before going to work?)
Anyway, if I wake up and hear Kids and the light says it's early, then this is a satisfying time to get out of bed and feel productive about my choices.
Kids II happens at first recess, around 10 or so. Waking up then indicates a bit of a sleep-in, but not too bad, considering how late one was up looking at increasingly stupid YouTubes last night.
Kids III happens just before noon. Waking up to Kids this late leads to questioning one's choices in life.
As I type, Fitz is still asleep and it's half-past noon, but it's his day off and he's just come off a streak of shitty early-open shifts at his work, which is a cruel way to treat a noted nightowl. So. He gets a pass.
There are later Kids, too- an afternoon recess, and after-school- but hearing those Kids while lying abed means either one is taking a sick day, or is having some kind of existential crisis re: "If I Don't Get Out Of Bed It Doesn't Matter And Nobody Will Notice." That's happened. Most notably, lying-in-bed-all day-because-sad was one of two reasons why I went to see the doctor in early September, at which time it turned out my lungs were full of clots that were on the very cusp of killing me dead, so. It's good I got out of bed that particular day.
Kids I happens around 8am during the week. You hear the distant howls and laughter of the kids as they play in the yard before school goes in. (This actually perplexes mildly- I remember arriving at school on time and going straight into the classroom. Maybe this is a phenomenon of modern parents having to drop off their kids early before going to work?)
Anyway, if I wake up and hear Kids and the light says it's early, then this is a satisfying time to get out of bed and feel productive about my choices.
Kids II happens at first recess, around 10 or so. Waking up then indicates a bit of a sleep-in, but not too bad, considering how late one was up looking at increasingly stupid YouTubes last night.
Kids III happens just before noon. Waking up to Kids this late leads to questioning one's choices in life.
As I type, Fitz is still asleep and it's half-past noon, but it's his day off and he's just come off a streak of shitty early-open shifts at his work, which is a cruel way to treat a noted nightowl. So. He gets a pass.
There are later Kids, too- an afternoon recess, and after-school- but hearing those Kids while lying abed means either one is taking a sick day, or is having some kind of existential crisis re: "If I Don't Get Out Of Bed It Doesn't Matter And Nobody Will Notice." That's happened. Most notably, lying-in-bed-all day-because-sad was one of two reasons why I went to see the doctor in early September, at which time it turned out my lungs were full of clots that were on the very cusp of killing me dead, so. It's good I got out of bed that particular day.