There are many different ways people try to solve the problem of waking up early in the morning. Long ago farmers would have a rooster that would crow as soon as it saw the sun coming over the horizon. When I was in school my Mom's knock on my bedroom door (sometimes more than once) would always help me start the day. There have been other times when a sleeping person unknowingly has been rudely awakened with water sloshed from a pail into their face. But of course, most people rely on a simple alarm clock that has a radio with a snooze button they intend to hit once or twice.

In my life this very first struggle of the day has been made into an enjoyment. I've always considered myself a night person, until just recently. Now I can easily awake at 4am so that I can get to work by 6am. How does it happen? It's simple. The answer is my husband helps me.

He gets up 30 minutes earlier than I do from a computer generated "cock-a-doodle-do". He is definitely a "morning person". Once he is up he begins preparing my breakfast and gets the coffee machine started. By 4am the breakfast is ready and he brings it to me on the breakfast-in-bed tray our children got me for Christmas, saying, "Linda, breakfast is ready. You need to wake up and eat it before Sandy gets it." (Sandy is our dog) These words are good motivation. My first thought is, I'm not gonna let the dog steal my hot food. Then the word "food" triggers an innate response within me that says my need for this hot steamy warm food exceeds my need for sleep! (My husband always makes sure I get around 8 hours sleep.) Then I sit up with my big warm cozy quilt snug all around me and begin to eat whatever he likes to fix me (He knows my likes and dislikes). My feet never touch our cold floor. After I finish breakfast I set it aside and do some reading. Then finally I get out of bed 30 minutes after I awake. Oh yeah, and then there is one other little detail. He always serves me some hot tea with breakfast because he knows how much I like it.