Elena M. (SLI) about Getting Up in the Morning

It was very hard for me to get up for school. During the school year, in the fall and winter, it was tough, but I still got up because I knew I had to. Later on, when the girls—my sisters—started going to kindergarten, my mom would wake me up at five in the morning. She would braid one’s hair, and I would do the other’s. She’d say, “Get up,” and I already knew it was time to wake up, but it was still very hard—I never got enough sleep.

In the village, in the summer, my grandfather too, always got up early—had livestock, a garden—and told us: “Time to get up.” If I could’ve slept until nine or ten, that would've been perfect. But they always woke us early. Now, I can sleep until eleven or twelve, right until lunchtime. I have that feeling—waking up and thinking: “Oh, I wish I could sleep a little more.” Then you think: “But what time is it? When are you going to start living?” You feel like it’s a shame to waste time sleeping. You want to enjoy the sun. After noon, the sun starts to go down, and the day slips away.

By the time you have lunch, shower, and do other things, it feels like the day is gone. But still, you want to sleep. If there's no school or anything urgent, I still sleep until ten or eleven. If a child has the chance, I think they should be allowed to sleep in.