Early Bird

I have always found it quite humourous that God would give me a first born who is a TRUE morning person.  Not just someone who awakens early and eases into his day, but someone who bursts out of bed ready to TAKE ON the day.  Yes, that is Caleb.  And that has been him from day one, and for those of you who have been in his life from the beginning, know how true this is.  He actually just ran right out of my womb and has not stopped since.  It is something that Eric and I love so much about him.  His energy. His natural excitement.  His zest for life.  It is all very endearing...just NOT at 6am. 

In great contrast to my Caleb, most of you know that I am NOT a morning person.  Not at all.  I savor my sleep and when God gave me Caleb, who has unnatural amounts of energy at 6am, it was a real awakening for me! I can remember when Caleb was a toddler,  Eric and I would rejoice, complete with tears of joy,  when he would sleep until 6:30am.  It would be a rare victory for us.  As he has gotten older, he does sleep a bit later.  But even on the weekends, he is usually up and at 'em by 7am.  At least now, he can fend for himself until we get going.

I have done much better with the mornings, since Caleb has started school and actually has to be there on time.  But I am definitely classified as one of those early risers who eases (very slowly) into my day.  I am now usually the first one in the house awake on school mornings. (Shocking, I know, especially to my hubby.)  I really enjoy that time and usually spend it doing my bible study or just having some quiet time before the house becomes alive with activity. Yeah, who ever thought that would happen? 

However, this morning was a different story. 

I remember looking at the clock at 6:30 (my usual wake up time) and telling myself I would just rest for a couple more minutes and then get up.  Eric had to leave early, so I wanted to make sure I did not fall back to sleep after he left.  Oops...

I was awakened by a fully dressed for school Caleb hovering over me.  The room was already
 bright, so I was pretty sure that I had not simply closed my eyes for five minutes.  No, I had overslept. 

"Mom, I already have my breakfast ready.  What can I get for you?"  I sat up unable to see the clock and said, "Oh, sweet boy, thank you.  What time is it?"   Caleb responded, "Oh, it's 7:11.  I am almost ready to go."  I sat up, got my brain together.  I was still a little foggy.  "Okay, buddy, I will be out in a minute." 

"Okay, Mom, but what can I get you to eat?"  Sweet boy.  I put in my cereal request and hopped up and mentally tried to calculate how I would make up for the lost time.  I had to account for the possible mess that might be awaiting me in the kitchen and a little extra time for getting Seth awake, since I assumed he was still fast asleep.

When I emerged from the bedroom, there was Seth on the couch and Caleb had our breakfast on the table.  "Look Mom, I cooked breakfast for everyone."  (Remember, we all had cereal.) He even had my water in a fancy cup secured by a coozie.  Yes, a coozie.  Wow!  There was no mess in the kichen and everything appeared to be running smoothly.  "Thank you, Caleb.  I don't know what Mommy would have done if you hadn't sprang into action this morning."  He just smiled.

Maybe I should oversleep more often.

Let me just say that the boys are pretty good with our morning routine.  Let me also say that on the first day of school they were not.  But after some well worth it training, they are both pretty awesome about getting everything done and out the door on time.  When they wake up, the first thing they do is get dressed and then they come downstairs for breakfast, which I make for them.  (And by make, I mean I put the cereal in the bowls with milk.)  Lately, Caleb has been asking to assume this responsibility for himself, which makes me nervous, especially when we have a full jug of milk.  But I wanted to give him a chance, and he has done really well with it, with only a few minor spills.  The boys also know that in order to have the priviledge of watching a TV show, short movie, or having some Lego time before going to school, they must have clothes on, breakfast eaten, teeth brushed, sink cleaned, and shoes on, before they can proceed to the fun stuff.  Most mornings they are ready long before I am.

This routine has pretty much eliminated any morning drama.  And morning drama is never good, especially for a non-morning person Momma.  The boys know what the expectation is and know it is their responsibility to meet it.  It has fostered confidence and some morning independence, which is another plus for the non-morning person Momma.

When he finished eating this morning, Caleb even went into my closet and pulled out an outfit for me to wear.  I am not sure if he had completely lost confidence in my ability to get us going or if he was just really enjoying his opportunity to serve this morning.  I think it was the latter.  The blouse was a bit fancier than I would have chosen for a day to get things done around the house, but when he said that he really thought I looked pretty in it, I could not resist.  Plus, I had a lunch date with him at his school, so it was well-suited for that occasion.

What could have been a chaotic morning, turned out to run very smoothly.  Thanks to my early bird, first born!  His energy often wears me out, especially in the morning, but I love it and wouldn't trade how God designed him for ANYTHING!  Even though I have not gotten as much sleep as I would have desired over the last seven years, it has been well worth it.  What a precious heart God has entrusted us with!