The early bird

is usually just really tired.

Can anyone tell me why I'm wide awake at 6 in the morning on a Saturday and have decided that the best thing to do is to grade some papers? Why am I not in bed asleep? Or watching television? Or reading a book? Seriously, why? I mean, I really don't get it. At all. In fact, I'm seriously beginning to consider the possibility that maybe I have become possessed by the long-lost spirit of a workaholic, or a thirteenth-century monk, or a Wall street broker in the 1980s. I mean, I like working hard as much as the next person, but six in the morning on a Saturday? And I'm grading papers? Just writing this down makes me feel like I am seriously out of my mind.

But what's even scarier is that husband-dear just woke up too, and didn't even raise his eyebrows when he saw me working at the kitchen table. In fact, he put on some coffee, and is now sitting beside me, taking care of some work-related stuff. And I just talked to a friend on Facebook who has also been up since 5:30. And I can think of at least five stores I could go to right now that are open for business. Yet I am pretty certain that if I were to call certain Dutch friends right now, they would be still be asleep, or at least less awake than I am right now. And, just in case someone missed it, they are six hours ahead of us. I know I wrote about this whole "America is up long before every one else" phenomenon a long time ago, but at this point, it's gotten ridiculous people. Do we ever take time off?

When you think about it, it's even scarier when you realize that this is a country who has a lot of fingers on a lot of potentially scary buttons. I bet you that most of those fingers did not get the recommended 8-9 hours of sleep last night. Or how about the American impact on the global economy? I bet you all those traders did not get their afternoon naps in either. Now I'm not saying that a good night's sleep could have prevented the current recession, but I think it's a point worth considering. Maybe if we all had a lot more sleep, we would understand why owning a car with a 1 in 3 gas mileage is not a good idea, why Walmart's ugliness beats out its convenience any day, and why fast food is really bad for you. I'm just saying. Sleep can make a huge difference.

So as a community, I say we need to lay off the Dunkin', stay away from the Starbucks, start implementing the French, "demain, demain" policy, drink more Malibu, as it claims to be "seriously easy going", and take at least one siesta per day. At least. And then sit back and watch the world become a better place. I promise.