Mornings do not make my soul shine. Mornings are an obligatory precursor to the part of the day when my brain and body can consider what a productive day could be.
Because my husband used to be a morning person, I know morning people do exist. He was someone who was genuinely happy to climb out of bed with joie de vivre. It seems unnatural unless you have seen it with your own eyes. However, three toddlers and he too isn’t jumping up to start his day.
Obviously, we are not alone in our distaste for early mornings. No alarm is needed in our house, as a screeching toddler will start the day by announcing which sister took off her jammies. In the years past, I could roll out of bed, listlessly change the diapers, make the bottles, and fix an easy breakfast that would tide the kids over long enough for me to drink some tea as I tried to acclimate into being a high functioning adult. The Pre-K’s start time of 7:30 ended the era of lazy mornings. Long feared, the grind of the school year is a humbling reality. Come 6:30, we must be high functioning whether or not our bodies concur.
The school year is quickly approaching. After-school activities and pressure to make weekend plans count will resume soon enough. It is time to double-check that we have purchased the entire school supply list and be reminded that we have yet to buy school uniforms. So far, I seem to be the mom who despite best efforts, forgets at least one critical school necessity. However, we do have a stockpile of girly water bottles, courtesy of Amazon prime day.
When I dread the early mornings, I remember that my daughter really does love going to school. This is the year she will learn to read, and despite our efforts this summer, I suspect she master that milestone more effectively at school.
The school year coincides with the dance year. My (almost) three-year-old will soon start her first year of dance. She is so excited to be a ballerina. I may loathe waiting in the car with an (almost) two-year-old who mourns not being in dance herself, but I know my older girls will adore every minute of it.
And then I think of fall. Eventually bearable temperatures, socially appropriate reasons to wear cozy sweaters, putting up the growing collection of fall décor, and making pumpkin patch moments happen.
Sigh.
Yes, the grind is nearly here, so I will extra appreciate the slower starts of the remaining summer mornings. But soon enough, there will be pumpkins. And matching Christmas dresses. We will make the grind work; it’s just going to require a lot of caffeinated tea and Main Squeeze Juices.
