I used to loathe mornings. As the alarm would rip me from slumber, I would feel the weight of dread hit my chest. There was so much stress, so many details. I was absolutely certain that if I didn't get out of bed, the world would cease to turn and all mankind would be annihilated. All that changed this year.
What is different?
I wake everyone up earlier. And I no longer pack lunches.
If anyone forgets their lunch, backpack, coat, homework etc., it's not my problem.
I still wake up every morning to the alarm, but that just means it's time to roll over, curl up with Lewis for about 10 more minutes of snuggle time. I gradually waken to Lewis sitting up in bed, reading his scriptures. At this point, depending on all kinds of environmental factors, I either sleep a little more, read some scriptures myself, or go wake up the kids.
It never ocurred to me that I might have it easy with my boys until I saw my mom's expression of shock when I told her it's not tough at all to get them out of bed. It's usually somewhere between 5:50 and 6:05. I come down the stairs calling "Good morning handsome princes!" I begin tickling Dainon's feet and cajoling him out of bed. I summon Logan repeatedly until I get a verbal response and I hear at least some movement. The little boys almost bounce out of bed. I carry Liam upstairs and put him in my bed, where he gets a little snuggle time with dad if it's still early enough.
Then we have scriptures. Tuesday and Thursday, we have Daddy here, which is new, and I love it.
After scriptures and family prayer, the boys all get themselves dressed and come up for breakfast. I quickly assemble a lunch for Lewis and kiss him as he dashes out the door. The boys get their own cereal while I sit at the table reading the paper, sipping herbal tea.
They eat, and I read any interesting articles aloud. Today, we discussed the Al Quaeda suicide bomber that got into the palace of a Saudi prince and detonated while he was standing right beside him. Apparently, he had a whole pound of explosives AND a detonator shoved up his rear. The prince was only slightly wounded, but the assasin made a BIG MESS!
What lovely breakfast discussion!
Then they pack their own lunches, and I'm slowly working my way through the paper. Heaven help anyone that tries to grab the comics out of order!
I'm available for consultation and various signing duties as I sit on my throne at the head of the table. First the big boys leave, then the little boys do. Somewhere during this time, Liam arrives looking toussled and grouchy. In an effort to avoid hysterics, we quickly supply him with cereal.
Then, before I know it, everyone is gone but Liam and me. It's lovely.
4 comments:
Wow...my mom would have had our heads if we weren't up and ready to go at a certain time; the guillotine was always waiting.
Noelle would trade you boys in an instant if only to have a child that would get out of bed when he is asked to for just one morning. He must fear me a lot more than her because I woke him up 45 minutes earlier than usual to get dressed before I leave for work and he didn't give me the slightest bit of trouble. He then went back to sleep on the couch until Noelle woke him up for school and he was a complete grouch to her again. Grrrr!
I have found the water bottle (the kind that gives you "spray" and "stream" options to be quite useful--and it sure starts my day off with a laugh.
ha ha, me and nathan have been cracking up about the story of the terrorist with his explosive bottom. Our laughter has been fueled by visuals of this honorable procedure and the stories he has to tell in the after life. We don't know how he'll impress his forty virgins in heaven with that tale. Questions arise of how he was able to detonate the explosives, to bad hes not around to explain it.
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