I’ve talked here often of my insomnia. But no matter how tired I’ve been I can usually drag myself out of bed in the morning because the black fizzy goodness that is Vanilla Diet Coke awaited me on the other side of slumber.

I’m not a tea or coffee drinker (and dislike hot drinks in general) so diet coke in various forms has been my go-to morning drink for decades.

I gave it up for about 3mths back in 2011, and have attempted to do so again and again since.

I know all of the reasons I should do so. I know there are other options…. so this post isn’t about my addiction to the now-impossible-to-find Vanilla Diet Coke.

It’s about what gets us out of bed in the morning.

I know most of you will say it’s your kids. Up at sparrow fart and wanting to be entertained. Or fighting with siblings. For others it might be the need to head to work at some ungodly hour. Or (worse still) up for early morning exercise.

I’m not a morning person though work better in the morning (and late arvo incidentally) so getting out of bed in the morning has never been something I’ve done willingly. It’s usually been work, chores or other commitments that have driven me from the comfort of my morning bed*

However… like others and their morning coffee I’ve traditionally had my icy cold VDC to reward me for the gesture. Even when I’ve felt at my worst, I’ve managed to crawl out of bed knowing that shot of fizzy caffeine was awaiting me.

And I know I’m kinda being facetious, but seriously…. it was enough to get me out of bed when I had nowhere else I needed to be and nothing else that (urgently) needed doing. It was enough to get me up and going with my day when the alternative felt far better.

Until now. As I gave up VDC – out of necessity not desire – 10 days ago. It’s become increasingly hard to buy so I figured the time was right and my stomach, teeth and wallet would thank me.

I felt pretty ordinary last weekend – timed perfectly to coincide with tidying my place to prepare for it to go on the market. Yes… #WTF was I thinking? But now I’m kinda okay. Kinda.

However… my biggest struggle is the ‘getting out of bed in the morning’ thing and the fact that I have nothing awaiting me. Breakfast is never exciting enough. Neither is work, chores nor much else it seems. And that makes me kinda sad.

Other than the obvious – kids, animals, the need to go to work and pay bills or attend appointments – what gets you out of bed in the mornings? 

* Interestingly my ‘nighttime bed’ seems to be a different animal to my morning bed. In my nighttime bed I’m often unable to get comfortable.

I’m making an attempt to get my blogging mojo back by posting EVERY day in April. #holdme