"Ok kids, this morning, I am not in a hurry. In fact, I don't even worry about getting to work. So, take your time. Feel free to dawdle, poke around and move like a turtle. I will just sit here on the chair and wait until you are all good and ready to go."
I wonder what would happen. Knowing my children for all of their natural lives, I doubt this will work.
The key is motivation. Maybe I should have a contest and the winner gets a donut with chocolate sprinkles if they are not only first out to the car but have completed all the required tasks of the morning:
- Clean clothes on, including underwear. (It is an issue that does require much attention on a near daily basis)
- Teeth brushed, hair combed.
- Shoes on including SOCKS.
- Jackets on and zipped.
I could award extra points for putting dirty clothes in the laundry basket, wiping out the sink after spitting toothpaste in it and helping the little ones with shoes and socks.
Do I dare to dream such a fabulous dream?
Of course, if everything went smoothly every day I would not have anything interesting to write about. And without the rush out the door, I would not get the kick start of adrenaline I surely need in order to start yet another productive day.
My "Mommy Brag Moment" for the week: my youngest, Peanut, who is 4 has learned to dress himself. He surprised me one day when I set his clothes down on the couch next to him, fully planning to return and help Peanut don his daily digs, and when I returned, he was dressed. A few days later, he surprised me again by showing me that he can put on his jacket and zip it up. However, his 8 year old brother would like me to believe that he is completely incapable of dressing himself or that his arms and legs do not function before 8am.
I realized today that my daughter, Princess, is not a morning person. I tried to wake her up, and she raised her head, nodded that she was up but then flopped back down. I walked by and said, "I wonder if Miss Sunshine is awake." She immediately jerked her head up and said, "I do not like to be called that." Her preferred nickname is Princess or Sweetie. Ok. Not a morning girl. She gets that from me. When I was in college, my roommates quickly learned not to talk to me for the first 45 minutes of the morning. I would have said something similar to Princess. "I do not like to be called Miss Sunshine. "
The moment that makes my day however is Peanut coming out, dragging his blue cloud blankie, rubbing his sleepy eyes and saying "Good morning, Mommy." or the sweet little smile, full of dimples his 5 year old brother, Pumpkin-head Pie Face, gives me when I wake him up with playful tickles. (The nickname "Pumpkin-head Pie Face" is not my doing, that is his choice of nickname. It used to be Pumpkin...then he added "...head" and just before starting Kindergarten, he added "Pie Face". Ok. He's his own person.)
So, even though the mornings don't go smoothly and I am 10 minutes late every day, there are these little things that stick in my mind that make me smile and grateful that I have the opportunity to wake my children every day and witness the development of their personalities and preferences as they forge out their unique identities. It's a blessing and a privilege, and far more important than those 10 minutes of work I missed.
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