9pm - 9am

Please excuse me for this rant...I am exhausted and the coffee hasn't kicked in yet.

I grew up in a very strict household with lots of rules. There is only one rule that I can think of right now that I have carried over into my adult life. It's a rule that I feel is exceptional and should be followed by everyone. It's the 9pm to 9am rule.

Basically, as a way to keep me from bugging other people/neighbors/friends' parents/etc. in the wee hours in the morning, my mom started this rule. I was sort of an early riser as a young kid and my best friend and I loved to call each other the minute we woke up. Neither of our parents were exactly early risers. So, my mom always told me that it was extremely rude to call people before 9am. Seeing as how I never wanted to be rude, I stuck to this rule like my life depended on it! When I started staying up later than 9pm, my mom extended the rule to saying that it's extremely rude to call people between 9pm and 9am. I could see her point. And I stuck to this rule.

Of course, in college, I was rarely up and ready to go before 9pm, so I bent the rule for the time being. However, if I knew someone was staying in for the night, I still would not call them between 9pm and 9am. After all, I didn't want to bother them!

But, undergrad is over and has been over for many years now. When I entered this wonderful world of adulthood and responsibilities, I realized that at heart, I was an early to bed, early to rise type of gal. Even Jonathan quickly adapted to this schedule as it's just more convenient for me. And try as I might to sleep in late on my days off, I am often up by 7am. I thrive only after a minimum of 8 hours of sleep, so many times on the weekend I am still in bed by 10pm.

It's lame.

I know.

The fact still remains that my alarm clock starts blaring at 5:15am Monday - Thursday. So, to get in a full 8 hours of sleep on weeknights, what time does that put me in bed? By 9:15pm.

Again, lame.

I know.

But, it is what it is and until I get a job either way closer to home or one that I don't have to arrive until 9 or 10 in the morning, it's just how it's gonna be. I've accepted it. And everyone needs to learn to deal with it.

If you can't tell, I get extremely irritable when people break the 9pm to 9am rule. Everyone knows it. I've repeatedly told people that I go to bed early and it's best to not try to contact me past 9pm. I don't mind as much if it's a Thursday - Saturday night as I do not have to be up before the sun the next morning on those days. However, I personally think that it is just in good taste to follow the 9pm to 9am rule at all times. I was raised in the south by true southern ladies. We always try to things that are in good taste at all times.

The only exception to this rule is in the case of an emergency. Which is why I rarely, if ever, put my phone on silent at night. I always have my phone on and everyone knows that if there were an emergency, they could call me and I'd be there...no problem. Jonathan completely turns his phone off at night, which drives me insane! Of course, he has drunkard friends that like to text him at all hours of the night and his phone goes off with every.single.email he receives...spam and otherwise. In general, his phone always drives me nuts. And since we are cancelling our home phone today (FINALLY...the contract is up!), someone has to keep their phone on for family emergencies.

So, please. I'm begging everyone out there. Let's act like adults and keep the sacred hours of 9pm to 9am contact-free. I treasure my sleep. I am not a morning person (despite waking up early every day). I get very irritable, even if I am up, if someone tries to talk to me before caffeine has had time to circulate through my body.

It's best for us all to observe the 9pm to 9am rule.

Really. It is.