The alarm clock!!

Trrrnggggggggg…. The alarm went off! Was I supposed to shut it off? No surely mom would do it. Oh! How I hated to get up so early in the morning. Was it a school day? Maybe it is the weekend. I could sleep some more….

When I was in school, my mother used to wake me up at 5.30 a.m. and though I loved school I hated the timings. Every night I used to hope that next morning the alarm would not go off and sleep in deep slumber along with me. But then dreams and hopes would shatter at the shrill sound of the alarm. Once the alarm was shut off, my mother would start chanting my name. Believe me she had to go on for quite a while before I could get up from ‘my cozy bed’.

Sometimes I would wonder whether the alarm was better as it would shut off after a while. But my mother was relentless and a disciplinarian and would continue with her ‘chant’ with her voice rising every second. But I used to be hidden underneath my quilt to avoid hearing the ascending tone of her voice which felt shriller than the sound of the alarm. But however much I tried, there was no escape from the routine and eventually I saw myself in school sharply at 7 am. Thanks to the whole alarm and chanting system in my house, I was never late to school and neither do I remember missing school for any reason. Come rain or thunder, cough or fever, my attendance at school showed ‘Present’ on all days.

My teachers were proud of me and schooling was finally over and I was happy that ‘the morning alarm’ sessions were over.

But fate has its own special way of playing truant. Life flew by and now I have two school going kids. Yes, you are right. I have to get up at 5.30 am again and wake my kids so that they won’t miss school. The scene remains the same. But there is a change in the persons playing the roles. Also, the tone of the alarm is different.

It is not as shrill as it used to be earlier. There are various types of alarm tones to get up to (though finally even the sweetest tone sounds shrill in the silence of the morning whilst deep in slumber). Now there is an additional option of “snooze” which gives us 5 minutes extra sleep where we can doze off and get the alarm ringing after every 5 minutes. But, eventually there is no escape from the fact that I have to switch off the alarm and get up so I can start chanting the names of my kids in an ascending tone to awaken them from deep and beautiful sleep.

Just like I was raised, I prefer my children not being absent from school for any reason. So the whole early morning act continues in my life (albeit with a role change) after a long break. Just like I used to wait for my schooling to end so that I could escape from this early morning tryst, I am sure my kids too are waiting for the same. Even I am waiting for the curtains to fall and the act to end so I could quietly retreat to getting up a bit later than now.

But somehow I feel it is a far cry. Because by the time they are out of school, I would be so trained in getting up at 5.30 a.m. that even without an alarm I would sit up wide awake for sure. Age would surely catch on and sleeping late somehow wouldn’t be so appealing. It is when we are young that we feel as lazy in the morning as we feel active throughout the day until late night. I have already got a peek into my future because even during weekends I find myself sitting up wide eyed at 5.30 a.m. Even without the alarm sounding off!

So my early morning rendezvous with the alarm and my kids continues with zest (or should I say apathy) and my sound tone is improving day by day with my patience. I am sure this story will continue even after I quit from the act as surely my kids will take my place like I took my mother’s! So with my best wishes in advance for the next generation, I hope the act continues to be as successful as it has been till now.