5:30am

I used to be a night owl. I used to make dinner, eat, and clean up the kitchen. Then I’d spend a few more hours sending emails, planning lessons and grading student work. Finally, I’d end my day with a treat to some laughs by watching John Stewart’s The Daily Show. (Who’s John Stewart? He was the host of The Daily Show years ago before Trevor Noah.) Then I’d head to bed at 11:30pm.

Now in my fifties, I find I have a different routine. I still set my alarm for 5:30am. But now I find I am so productive in the morning. While eating breakfast, I make my plan. Then I attack email and lesson planning. Now, as a middle school teacher, I am done teaching kids at 1pm and can spend the next few hours planning for the next day of teaching. Now I eat dinner a little earlier. Now I treat myself to Jeopardy and head to bed with a book as early as 8:30pm.

Today, seeing 5:30am flash red on my alarm clock, I climb out of bed. I remind myself it is Wednesday, Hump Day. I push myself to be productive this morning. I decide on 2 links to share with my students through a Morning Message shared as an email. (Thanks Cindy for the inspiring video shared in your Slice yesterday! and thanks mom for letting me know about author Grace Lin’s podcast). I make my To Do list. I log onto my blog and write my March 25th Slice.