Meal Jet Lag

"Hey, I'm Sarah and I'll be taking care of you."

"Hey Sarah, I'm Matt and we are on a tight schedule. Can we give you our order now? Great. Oh, and you can go ahead and bring me the check? We'll settle that up so we can make a dash when we're done eating."

All of this happened yesterday prior to our first orchestra dress rehearsal. We had plenty of time to enjoy our meal and make our 5:30 make-up calls., but I did set an alarm on my iPhone for 5:15. This is a trick I have used to help me relax during hurried off-schedule meals: Order is IN. Alarm is SET. Now I can enjoy the 30-45 minutes of down time before singing. 

This is not an uncommon scene these days. We often have meals at unusual times because of our rehearsal or because we are eating on a toddler's schedule. The rehearsal schedule at most opera companies is broken up into three blocks of time. Typically 10 a.m.-1 p.m., 2 p.m.-5 p.m., or 7 p.m.-10 p.m. but sometimes 12 p.m.-3 p.m., 5 p.m.-8 p.m. or 11 a.m.-3 p.m., 430 p.m.-730p.m. You get the picture. It's not predictable.

How does this line up with our toddler's schedule? Well, it doesn't. Henry has breakfast between 7-8 a.m. He is usually ready for lunch by 11 which puts dinner around 5. I know, I know; these are nursing home meal hours, but they are MY nursing home meal hours. If you are a parent, you are familiar with these approximate hours. I spend more time with Henry than I do rehearsing operas, so my stomach stays on my home schedule. So, when we are in rehearsal from 10am-1pm, we are hungry for lunch at the short break around 11:30. Then at the lunch break at 1 p.m., we have to snack again to get through the 2 p.m.-5 p.m. rehearsal. In some ways it's like we have meal jet lag. Our bodies are telling us it is time to eat but the rest of our world is eating an hour and a half later. 

When rehearsals go until 10pm or later, it is usual for everyone to go and replenish the calories spent singing and jumping around on stage with a "meal". I love to go and grab a nice glass of wine or an adult beverage with a few small plates. But Mother Time catches up to you, and she never forgets. Too many late nights and that 7am wake-up will start to feel like a cold bucket of water dumped on your head in the middle of deep sleep. "I'm Up! I'm Up!" 

So, instead,  we come right home, relieve the babysitter, and have a glass of wine and something yummy to munch on. And then wake-up ready to see what meal confusion the new day will bring.