Waking up people has never been my favorite thing to do. I want everyone to set their own alarms and wake up themselves. Unfortunately, it is something that I had to do for years. Our son was easy to wake-up. I could pretty much walk to his bedroom door and say, “Good morning, Joshua.” He would sit up, rub his sleepy eyes and say, “Good morning, mom.” Our daughter was a different story. She might grunt, but then she would roll over and go back to sleep. I would often have to wake her several times. She is not a morning person.
I remember running late, as usual, one morning. She wasn’t ready to leave for school, and I said, “Elizabeth, go brush your hair, brush your teeth and put on your shoes.” She looked at me with those big brown eyes, and said, “Can you make me a list?” I clicked them off with my fingers, “Hair, teeth, feet.” She counted them on her fingers and nodded at me. Two minutes later, I found her standing next to my bed, holding a hairbrush in one hand and petting the cat with the other. “Elizabeth Grace, what are you supposed to be doing?” She shrugged her shoulders at me, realized she had a brush in one hand and started brushing her hair. Mornings were quite the challenge. I wish that I could tell you I was patient with her. I was not.
Not long after that morning, we purchased a swing set for the backyard. My husband got it all put together late one evening. The next morning, I woke up both kiddos, and we started the morning circus. When it was time to leave for school, I could not find Elizabeth. I searched the entire house. Nothing. Finally, I thought to look outside. She was in the backyard, completely ready for school, swinging on that new swing set. If I had known, we would have gotten that girl a swing set years prior just to alleviate some of our morning stress.
This morning I will begin my 20th year in the classroom as an educator. Wow! It seems like I just started yesterday! The last couple of years have looked so different from years past. There won’t be any small children to dress, lunches to pack or chauffeuring to do. I will only be responsible for myself. It is bittersweet. I don’t miss the frustration of looking for lost socks or turning around and going back home because someone forgot something. I certainly don’t miss waking up little people. However, I do miss those sleepy good morning hugs, those adorable small faces rubbing the sleep from their eyes and those morning chats in the car on the way to school. Those chats were the best!
For all you sweet mommas who are not just getting yourselves ready in the morning, I know that it seems like an eternity from now. Trust me, tomorrow you will be in a new season. Cherish that sweet chaos. I know some mornings you might lose your temper. Cut yourself some slack. You are human. Some mornings you will run late. That is not what you will remember years from now. Don’t sweat it.
There are tons of strategies out there to help make morning routines easier. Some of them will work for your family, some will not. If you are so inclined, do the research and try out some of them. But don’t compare yourself to another mom and don’t try to force something just because it works for someone else. You are a smart momma, you are a good momma. God gave you those sweet babies. Trust yourself.
Even more importantly, spend some time in prayer for your babies and everyone they come in contact with on a daily basis. I Peter 5:8 tells us that satan “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (NIV). There are so many things that we need to do for our children everyday but none more important than covering them in prayer.
And whatever you do, don’t give up! Those babies grow up and will amaze you! That sweet girl of ours still doesn’t love mornings, but she doesn’t throw things at people anymore. Success! She is also adulting well! That girl can get herself out of bed and to class on time! Somehow she even manages without coffee.
With Eyes on the Cross 