A Good Way to Start the Day

I overslept today. I don't know why. I heard the alarm. I heard Chris's alarm. We both pressed the snooze button a number of times. I woke up at 8:17, and I flew out of bed and started frantically getting the kids moving so they could get to school on time. They were both up already, of course. They were downstairs watching something on TV, probably just counting their lucky stars that Mom hadn't kicked them in the butt yet. It was a frenzied morning, but they made it to school on time, along with the other two kids that I was driving this morning. Chris did not get to work on time, which made him a bit of a grouch, and in turn made me a bit snappy. All in all, it was not a good way to start the day.

I am not a morning person, by any stretch of the imagination, but I have had to get up early on a regular basis many times in my life. When Connor was a baby and I was teaching full-time and we only had one car, I had to get Chris to work, Connor to a sitter, and myself to work across the city by 7:45. My alarm went off at 5:45 then, and I don't think I used my snooze button. When Janelle was a baby, my friend Heidi and I would meet at 6:00 a.m. for a daily predawn trek across Marysville. I loved that! We got our exercise and a good visit, and were both ready for our day by the time we were done. I don't know why we ever stopped. When I had the preschool, I got up at 6:30, so I could get all of us up, dressed and out of the house by 7:45.

I think the fact that the kids don't have to be at school until 9:00 a.m. has contributed to my lack of urgency when it comes to getting up in the morning. But I'd like to change that. I'd really like to start getting up before the kids again, so I can have early morning devotional time, maybe get myself cleaned up before I drive the kids to school, and actually feel like I'm ready to start my day after they are off to school. Maybe I should think about going for an early morning walk again, although I always found that works best when I have a partner with whom I can be accountable. I want to be able to set my alarm and get up, even at 7:00 a.m., and give us all a better start in the morning.

That is what wide-awake, mid-morning Leanne says. Unfortunately, she isn't anywhere to be found when the alarm goes off in the morning. The Leanne that is repeatedly pressing the snooze button in a stupor knows that she doesn't need to be up that early. She craves every bit of sleep she can get! But tomorrow I'm going to give it a try. I'm going to try to overpower sleepy Leanne with rational awake Leanne, and see if we can all have better morning. I let you know how it goes....