For as long as I can remember, I have been a masterful snooze-alarm hitter. My current alarm clock snoozes every five minutes, a short interval, and yet I am capable of hitting snooze, falling back asleep and even dreaming in that small period of time before the BEEP BEEP BEEP filters back into my consciousness.

Thankfully, my husband is tolerant of this quirk of mine, and might even find it a wee bit helpful to get himself up and going in the morning.

Why are mornings so hard? I even like getting up early, on the rare occasions it happens.

Back in college, I even placed my snooze alarm across the room, thinking that would at least help wake me up by the coldness of the floor on my feet, the walking all the way over there (it was a big room).

But no, I simply shambled somnambulently every nine minutes to and from my bed, where the warm embrace of the sheets and comforters sang a siren song to my semiconscious self.

Even if I go to sleep early, thinking that will help me rise and shine, I still find myself hitting that tempting little button that gives me just a bit more sleep.

It’s not exactly something that I would call a talent, but after so many years of trying to find a way to break this habit, I have grudgingly accepted that I have an innate ability to snooze.

While it obviously conflicts directly with the first order of the Shulchan Aruch (I don’t think “rise like a lion” means rising multiple times only to return to sleep), I hope I at least get some brownie points for attempting to wake up a little early, and for any day when I hit snooze just one or two times less than I otherwise would.

Photo by Mpho Mojapelo on Unsplash