The Morning Shuffle

It is almost 11 o’clock. My daughter is in bed. My husband & our pup are passed out on the couch & the sounds of Nashville are playing softly on the television. I should be sleeping, but I can’t. This is my time, my time to unwind. Every evening I go through this battle. The bed calls to me, but I don’t want to waste my time sleeping. This is of course a poor choice as the morning will come quickly & I will wake tired and groggy without the energy required to get me through the day ahead of me.

When the morning arrives, my alarm will go off and I will hit the snooze button about 3 or 4 times while my dog pokes me with his nose reminding me that it is time for his breakfast. I’ll finally answer Duke’s pleas and pull back my covers. My shower will be quick & efficient. My wardrobe choice will be comfortable and boring. I will try to rouse my daughter in an attempt to get her ready before we head off to daycare.

Our typical morning banter will begin. Mai’s responses to mommy usually go something like this…

“I don’t want to wake up.”
“I don’t want to go to Miss Laura’s.”
“I want to wear my stinky diaper.”
“I want to wear pink pants”
“I don’t like the pink pants.”
“Purple pants!! I said purple.”
“I don’t like purple.”

Some mornings I win the battle and we make it out the door with just enough time for me to actually make it to work with a coffee in hand. Most mornings I leave the house defeated, with those pink pants tucked into my purse and a tear-streaked child in my arms. Wrestling to get an angry writhing child into a car seat is no simple feat. On the car ride, I change the words to ‘The Wheels on The Bus’ to ‘The Wheels On The Car’. This is enough to break through the tantruming shell and find my sweet daughter again.

At daycare, I apologize for the pajamas, change her diaper & put her in her pink pants before planting a kiss on the top of her head. “Mama, no go to work.” she cries. Mama’s heart breaks. She wraps her arms and legs around me as if she were a koala on a eucalyptus tree. I reluctantly try to pull her away. She catches sight of baby Ava as she walks through the door & forgets about mommy. I sneak out sad and frantic as I rush off to another late start to my work day. This is how my morning will begin tomorrow. If I had any sense, I would be in bed right now. I would close my eyes and prepare myself for my morning battles, but tonight I just to take some time for me and enjoy the calm before the storm. I will yell at myself in the morning.

Filed under: Life Tagged: alone, calm, daycare, family, meltdowns, morning, motherhood, parenting, peace, quiet, rushing, tantrum, toddler, two year old