4:29 am- Yes!! I’m finally sitting in the theater…Rogue One is about to start, I got my popcorn, sitting next to supermodels, the Yeti and George Washington.  I’ve been waiting forever to see this movie and it’s finally going to happen.  Oh boy, the lights just went down.  YIPPEE!! This is going to rock! Get ready lightsabers, space battles, and, of course, Darth Freaking Vader!!!

4:30 am- BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! (Note: it’s actually that super annoying verizon ring tone but I have no idea how to put that into typing…maybe Dun dun dun dun du du dun dun dun dun du du du)

4:30 am- What??? Vader…you’re fading away?? Where’d you go…What’s going on???

4:30 am- …..oh…alarm….

4:30 am- This can’t be happening….this isn’t happening….no….NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

4:30 am- look at phone 

4:30 am- Well crap…

4:30 am- Hit snooze…you know you wanna!  Come on, fall back asleep.  I bet you’ll go right back into that sweet space operaesque dream…all the cool kids are doing it.

4:30am- Or I could actually man up, go to the gym, deadlift, pull-ups, clean and jerk and 6 mile run…you know?  Like we originally planned last night!

4:30am- There’s that option….but just take a second and really feel how warm these blankets are… like a cozy fireplace of happiness.

4:30 am- mmmmmmmm….warmmmm blannnnnnkets….

4:30 am- Exactly!

4:30 am- Before we decided, let’s just see how cold it is outside…I mean you don’t wanna freeze to death trying to get your run on in the dark.

4:30 am- Excellent point, me.

4:30 am- Rolls over and looks at weather app….40 degrees.

4:30 am- Welp there you have it.  You are obligated by the weather gods to get up now.  This might be the only time in months it’ll be this warm in the morning.

4:30 am- You present a very logical argument but let me present a counterpoint…sleep is awesome.

4:30 am- ROLL YOUR EXCUSE MAKING A$$ OUT OF BED AND DO WHAT YOU SAID YOU WERE GOING TO DO!!!!!!!

4:30 am- Glad to see ole Drill Sergeant Ward has woke up.

4:30 am- Yup…was waiting for him to put in his two cents.

4:30 am- YOU ARE WASTING PRECIOUS TIME ***CLOWN!! WAKE UP!!! OR THERE WILL BE PUNISHMENT!!!

4:30 am- Ugh…..blah.

4:30 am- I’ve been waking up this early for literally 3 years now…you think it’d get easier, right?

4:30 am- (John Locke Voice…for you Lost fans out there) “IT’S NEVER BEEN EASY!!”

4:31 am- Roll out of bed and put on my workout clothes…sleepy but proud to have conquered in my daily battle with the inner resistance monologue demon.

This happens literally every morning.  A chance to practice my “discipline muscle”.  Usually I win…not always but most of the time I do.

Now if only I could use that discipline muscle to counteract the “must eat ALL of the Christmas cookies my wife makes”.  Still working on that one.

Happy Holidays! Conquer the resistance and keep pushing forward!

P.S.- I’m not joking when I say that I start most days visualizing this scene from LOST “IT’S NEVER BEEN EASY!”