Early Riser

I am not a morning person.  It is, therefore, quite ironic that I married a farmer, who chose his life profession knowing full well that he would have to wake up every morning at 5:20 AM, to be out the door at 5:45 AM.

Most of the time, I don't hear him get up and get ready, so I sleep in until I either feel the first kid snuggling up to me in my bed (usually E) and/or the first baby crying out for, "Mah-Meeeeeee!" or "Daaaaaaaaaaaaaa-dee!"

My oldest daughter, the big girl attending her fifth day of kindergarten today, is an early riser like her dad as well.  I remember from about twelve months to age two (yes, a full year!), E would wake at three in the morning.  She was fully awake, and Danny and I were both zombies.  I would take her back into the playroom, pull out some puzzles, books, or toys, and she would fiddle around while I pretty much passed out on the carpet beside her.  Since I was pregnant part of this time, and subsequently taking care of newborn baby Cubby, it was a tough go for a while.

I have tried to get up when Danny wakes up, but then I have to go to bed right when the kids go to bed to get enough sleep.  If I do that, it feels like I have no "me" time at all during the day!  So I usually slip back into my old habits of sleeping in until 7:00 AM, and going to bed at 10:30 PM or 11:00 PM.  You can imagine how tough this is on Danny, who regardless of my flippant sleeping and waking schedules, still has to wake up at 5:20 AM every single morning.

All this has changed since five days ago when I had to start getting all four kids up, dressed, and fed in time to load up into the car to take E out to school which is a fifteen minute drive out to the country.   I was complaining about how tough it was every morning, and how I never had time to eat my proper Clean breakfast, when Danny shed some light on the situation.

"You need to wake up when I leave," he said simply.  And he was right.  So for the past two mornings, I have made myself roll out of bed at 5:45 AM.  Although I start out cranky and groggy, my mornings have quickly become the greatest part of my day.  My quiet breakfast eaten while reading a daily devotion (Our Daily Bread Daily Devotional), then working on my computer, has quickly become a sweet, mellow, wonderful time I look forward to spending.

To sweet, mellow, and wonderful, I should add that sometimes my quiet morning feels a little short.

You guessed it, my brood is rustling in their beds.  Time to begin the routine.  And this morning, I feel completely ready.