Sleep-LESS

I don't understand.  Truly, I don't understand it at all.  During my growing-up years, sleeping in was a luxury.  Face it, how many times did Mom stick her head in our bedroom doorway and announce, "Girls, time for school!" ?  I did some calculations.  Since there are 176 scheduled school days (and I know this because I was a teacher!), I figured that I was deprived of 1408 days of sleeping-in during my elementary grade schools years, and add to that another 704 days of high school for a grand total of 2,112 sleep deprivation days.  Now wait a minute, I've only begun to add 'em up.  Of course you have to add the college years to that when I burned the candle at both ends.  AND, then you chuck up even more when I began my teaching career (more hours added due to "Drive Time" to the workplace).  We all know what happens when the marriage life enters the picture, and, of course, the KIDS!   There is no sleep.  So, figuring all that into the equation, I have a total of over 15,000 days of getting up early!  After 35 years of work, retirement arrives and with it the idea of doing what you want and when you want.  Now you would think sleeping in is no longer a luxury but is at your beck and call.  WRONG.  Body says to Brain:  'Wake up."  And there I am in the wee hours of each morning, laying wide awake and raring to go.

 Makes no sense.  I don't want to get up while it's pitch-black outside, do I?  I cringe at what the neighbors would think if I'm out-and-about at 5:00 in the morning?  (and have 'em think, oh poor soul, one of those retirees who have nothing to do????)  then I come to find out that all my other "old" friends are experiencing the same problem.  What's with that?  Rather ironic isn't it?  We wait in anticipation for 60 years to sleep-in and find out to our dismay we can't.  Life is unfair, don't you think?