Wake Up Like a Tiger

When I was a little girl, my dad would always tell me, in Chinese, to wake up everyday, jumping out of bed like a tiger. What he meant was to wake up everyday, bright and early, energized (like a tiger). My dad and I have always been morning people while my mom and brother can sleep until noon.

Any rower can attest to the astonishment and bewilderment of friends and family when they discover what time crew practice starts. 4AM, 5AM, 6AM alarms are no strangers to rowers. When I started rowing, I had minimal trouble adjusting to the time change. Every morning I would be eager to get to practice, excited to see what boats and what line-ups we would row that day. I would literally, according to my dad's advice, jump out of bed like a tiger.

When I was pregnant, everything changed. I did not really have morning sickness, but gosh, I could not wake up in the mornings. I could hardly get up and out the door for work, least say rowing or swimming. I confess, I pretty much did not do any physical activity during that time. I just wanted to eat, sleep, repeat. Although I have been blessed with a child who seems to love sleep as much as her dad, I have not been able to regain my magical touch in the mornings. When the alarm rings in the morning, I hit the snooze button. When it rings again, I crawl out of bed, dress, cram my work clothes in my gym bag, grab my lunch, and go out the door, half-asleep.

A few months ago, as a last resort, I turned to drugs--a drug, coffee--to help me regain the tiger-instinct. I say coffee and not caffeine because it is the warm, rich aroma of coffee from the coffee maker that gets me out of bed every morning now. Of course, a little caffeine never hurts. Now, I wake up every morning a crazed coffee-addicted tiger, eager for her next hit. You won't want to see me in the mornings when I have forgotten to set the coffee maker the night before.