Then, I had kids. Sleepless nights turned into tired weeks, upon months, and vaporized years. I'll refer to these past 6 1/2 yrs as, "The Fog." They haven't been bad years! I've loved my babies who grew into toddlers and who are becoming incredible young people. I've loved them at all hours of the day and the night, and that changed how I lived life in a dramatic fashion.
My love for mornings turned into dread a I clung to my bedsheets for dear life as I heard the pitter patter of little feet coming to pry me from my warm haven. Or worse, the loud, "Moooooooommmm!!!!!!" that is more severe than any alarm clock as you fear one child may rouse the rest of the creatures and induce a cyclone throughout the house.
Now, my littlest babe is nearly three and my nights aren't nearly as interrupted as they once were; although I do have a loud sleep talker/caller who I have to attend to often...
I have found myself caught in this cycle of staying up way too late (because time sans children is precious) and then sleeping as long as I can until the kids wake me up and I stumble my way to the coffee maker... at about 7 in the morning (they're very consistent). My late nights consist of reality TV and/or Netflix while I'm mildly productive in reassembling a messy kitchen/living room or folding laundry. There is NO exercise or Bible reading at this time of day (night) to rejuvenate my spirit because, let's face it, my brain is tired and not at capacity to get there.
I think it was about a month ago that I was pondering my current state and I remembered, "Hey, didn't I used to be a morning person?"
I want that back.
I'm taking it back.
Of course my pondering was in the midst of summer with all of it's lack of routine and I decided to make this my mission once we were into the school year. ("I'll start... tomorrow...")Well, school started a week and a half ago and I took my two pre-schoolers for one last excursion to the lake with their cousins last week, so now we're there; back to routine.
Today, Monday September 12th, 2016, I set my alarm for 6am to begin my quest to reclaim my mornings. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've set an alarm in the past few years. (Perks of being a stay-at-home mom... and having children who are up early...) So, as I fumbled with my alarm clock for far too long trying to remember how the stupid thing shut off and then realized that it was my phone that was making the rude noises that seemed to get louder as it went on and on and on, it was a shock to the system.
When I finally got the alarm off, I was awake. Time to DO this.
I put my runners on, found my old Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred DVD and set it up on the TV in the basement. I hit the remote against the couch a few times because the stupid thing wouldn't work, then changed the batteries in the remote (worked like a charm-- apparently batteries die even when they're not being used), and got set to rock a workout amidst a sea of popcorn kernels covering the entire carpet in the area. Do my kids even get any in their mouths???? Seriously!
I got into my workout and quickly remembered how much I hate Jillian Michaels. I mean, I chase kids all day, lift bags/boxes of groceries regularly and log millions of miles circling around my kitchen sink. How can I be so out of shape???
Jett got up for his routine morning pee just before 6:30 and usually he goes back to his bed until 7, but because he saw the basement light on, he came down to join me. (not quite the plan I had in mind for my reclaimed morning, it's supposed to be kid-free, but such is the mom life). Truth be told, I was glaring at Jillian, cursing my aching body and was glad for an excuse to hit pause for a few minutes while I greeted my eldest son. My sweet boy even went and got me a cold glass of water. He then stayed and watched me trudge through the rest of my workout, cheering me on with comments like, "Mom, is that hard? It looks like it hurts! Are you tired?..." But I made it through day one of getting back on the wagon. Take that.
I shared with Jett that this 6-7am hour was only for exercise and Bible reading: ie NO electronics. He understood that if he wanted to take part with me, those were the terms. :) He did come curl up on the recliner with me and we read a passage from the Bible, talked about it and prayed together. Now, my intention is to have some private time to read my bible/pray, but if I share it with my kids sometimes, that's a-okay with me (as long as it's only one at a time... all three kids together would definitely kill the mood...). It was actually really special and refreshing to spend that time together. I have a very intelligent and insightful 6 year old. I am always amazed at the understanding he has of big/important concepts!
7am came and I did brew my first cup of coffee for the day while my other two littles trickled out of their beds. One really did trickle... out of a completely soaked bed. SO, the washer/dryer are doing their thing already. I got my boy fed/dressed and onto the bus by 7:50 and the day is well under way.
I'm sitting here writing this blog post, which I'm calling productive because I love writing and I consider it brain exercise. AND I haven't posted in a bajillion years! (Or 5 months) I feel good that I made a plan and followed through with Day 1. The Fog is lifting. I know that I have many mornings of having to pry myself out of bed against my will to get this thing going, but I WILL reclaim mornings and one day (hopefully not too long from now) it will get easier and I will look forward to waking up early again.
Now, on to a productive day.
