I don't do mornings

Normally, my alarm goes off about an hour before I have to leave the house in the morning. I flail at it until it shuts up then turn on my lamp and close my eyes. It goes off again, and I again flail at it until the awful noise quits, then laboriously haul myself vaguely vertical, and sit until it goes off the third time. Then I pick it up, turn it off properly, and start to get ready for the day.

This morning, my alarm went off, and I missed it entirely. I finally reached a fuzzy sort of consciousness about 20 minutes before needing to leave. Sitting cross legged on my bed, I looked at the clock, saw the time, told myself, "20 minutes, get moving or be late to work," and proceeded to not move at all. I did make it work almost on time, but to say I was awake would be overstating the matter.

We are told that if you wake up early enough to not feel rushed and start your day on a calm and collected note, everything will go smoother. What nobody explains is how that magical thing can happen. I would love to wake up peacefully when my alarm goes off, but I sleep like a rock. I remember, as a child, waking up at the other end of the hall from my room where my sister had drug me in an effort to wake me up for school. I've slept clean through window rattling thunderstorms, tornado sirens, and earthquakes.

How do you wake up in the morning. Are there any morning challenged people who have learned to "rise and shine?" What is the secret? Please share...

Quote of the day

The clever cat eats cheese and breathes down rat holes with baited breath. 
-W C Fields.