Early Birds vs Night Owls

Let me start by saying, "YAY, RYAN MADE IT SAFELY TO GERMANY!!"  

Red. Unplanned. <3

Everyday has been absolutely wonderful! (Except maybe that hour on the third day when we got into a tiny argument).  Wait, what?  Why would we argue after two months of being apart knowing we only have two weeks together?

Different sleep patterns.  That's why.

A Holly Exley illustration - hollyexley.blogspot.com

First Day:  Ryan flew in early on Sunday, which is the official "rest day" or "spiritual elevation day" enforced by Germany's highest court.  True story.  Most businesses are closed, so naturally we decided we'd take it easy and let him rest and ease in to the time difference. 

Second Day: (or early morning, I should say) I half awoke, in pitch darkness, to Ryan nudging me to tell me that the A's turned the game around in the 7th inning against the Astros, which resulted in me sleep-talking.  The convo went like this:

Me:  Did you know Chris Young used to be in the Astros?

Ryan:  Umm, yea (probably thinking to himself that he was the one who told me).

Me:  This fool, Ryan, didn't bring any of his A's gear to Germany, so I bought him two hats at the KMC (Kauserslautern Military Community) Center.

Ryan:  Dude, I'm right here!

I might have to steal the throwback one :)

Yup, that happened, then I woke up, and remembered the whole thing like I usually do haha!  Just another regular occurrence when we lay our heads down to rest, along with very different sleeping patterns..........

Third Day:  after sleeping until noon, Ryan mentioned that he felt like he was starting to get used to the time difference, which I responded to by agreeing because he sleeps until noon at home also whenever he has the chance.  Let me just say I did NOT mean this in a bad way (at all, whatsoever!), but he took it that way, "Why do you have to be so condescending??  Wah, wah, wah *fart noise* "  GEEZ.  (Fact: crankiness is a symptom of jetlag, and I definitely had it too.  Much worse).

After our spat debate, we still had fun at the Heidelberg Palace :)

Truth is, Ryan and I do naturally have different circadian rhythms, even at home in California.  No matter how late I sleep, my body automatically wakes up no later than 6 or 7am.  Ryan on the other hand will sleep up until I methodically open the blinds room by room, play records (soft ballads at a low volume at first, progressing to more upbeat ones), and cook breakfast.  He also does his best work and likes to clean up at night.

I don't believe, however, that morning people and evening people share the same general characteristics.  Circadian rhythms can and do change throughout the course of people's lives, and our personalities just follow suit with our environments, personal values, and influences.  Now that I think of it I don't think I ever was a morning person until I became a mom.  My body just naturally adjusted to my infant's needs.  According to this chart by Harvard Business Review I'm more like an evening person, and Ryan's more like a morning person.

I must admit that during the work week, Ryan is the first to wake up due to his early commute to Oakland.  He claims to catch up on sleep during the weekends. It is during sleep that muscles and tissue are repaired and brain gets recharged, so maybe Ryan has the correct patterns down.  He is a smart, buff guy after all lol.  

Hot.  Especially the face.

All in all I do sleep more sound when he's next to me, and will sadly lose sleep when he flies back to the states (sadface).  But enough of that sad talk.  We have a Luxembourg adventure waiting to happen!!  Choos!!