Mornings are Tough

Today is the eighth day of school.  It still doesn't feel like we have gotten "in the groove" of school mornings yet.  I have told you before that my kids are sleepers.  Honestly, so am I.  Some people actually enjoy getting up early to exercise, or work, or meditate.  I am not one of those people and I think it's safe to say my kids aren't either.  This is great during summer vacation, but not so much on school mornings.

I begrudgingly roll out of bed at 6:30 (6:00 if David is out of town) and begin making my rounds.  Alarm off; dog out; coffee pot on - then I'm off to start waking the girls.  All of them have alarm clocks that go off at 6:30.  This year, for the first time, Rachel has been doing a great job of getting herself out of bed.  By the time I make it up to her room, she is dressed and in the bathroom "primping."  The alarm doesn't do anything for Megan, though.  Typically the earliest riser of the bunch, she rarely wakes up on her own on school mornings.  I have to rouse her - sometimes several times - turn on lights, etc. to get her out of bed.  Emily is really having a hard time adjusting to the new "big kid" schedule this year.  Every afternoon, she is just exhausted and mornings come way too early for her.  I really have to work to get her up and dressed.  Eventually, they all make it to the table for breakfast, but none are really hungry and they can't figure out what they want to eat.  This if often a stage that is perfectly set for bickering, arguing, and drama as well.  Then, I send them off to brush their teeth and get their shoes.  By the time they head out the door, they usually have smiles on their faces and are ready for the day.  Getting to that point, however, is tough.  It is a whirlwind to say the least.

Sometimes, I think that if I had a sunnier disposition myself in the mornings, things would be easier.  In fact, years ago, I used to get up at 5:00am to get my self ready, get CeCe (our former foster child ready), put her on the bus, and then drive myself half an hour to work.  Why does 6:30 seem so difficult now???  The two things I have to keep reminding myself of are these:

1) It will get easier.  When Rachel was in kindergarten, she we had more tears than smiles in the mornings.  Emily was a newborn, Megan was a toddler, I was terribly sleep-deprived, and her Kindergarten teacher was nightmare.  We all survived, though.  It has taken quite a while, but, finally this year - in 5th grade - she has become an independent person in the mornings.  It may take another 5 years, but eventually Megan and Emily will get there, too, and it will get easier.  (Middle and high school start later around here, as well.  Although, I think I might prefer our difficult early mornings to the "middle school" years!  Yikes!)

2) Regardless of how tough each morning might be - and some are worse than others - and no matter how grumpy or delirious I may be myself, I don't want to send the girls off on a sour note.  So, my last words are always "Have a good day and I love you!"  I hope they will remember those words more than they remember the chaos.

So, what are mornings like at your house??