A tale of two mornings

Her alarm goes off. She hits the snooze. Stayed up too late last night. The alarm goes off, she hits the snooze again. The third time the alarm clock almost ends up being thrown, but instead she grudgingly gets out of bed.

She quick checks her email, facebook, pinterest before realizing now she has to rush to get the kids and herself ready. She sets the kids down in front of the TV with a bowl of cereal while she quick takes a shower after rushing to find an outfit.

When she gets out, kids haven’t made any progress yet on getting ready. They got sucked into the TV. She yells for them to get a move on. She decides there is no time for grooming and just slaps some lipstick on. She wrangles the kids who are looking for a shoe, a backpack and a lunch.

They are going to be late. She decides she will just have a coffee for breakfast on the way. As if she wasn’t wired enough. But, she feels so tired. She drives a little too fast and has a couple close calls. By the time she gets to work or her appointment she is frazzled.

In the house next door, her alarm goes off before the kids wake up. She gets up thinking of something she is looking forward to during the way to pry herself out of bed. She has a regular bedtime, so it’s easier for her to get up in the morning. Even if she doesn’t get “everything” done she wants to the night before, she knows how important sleep is to her day.

She centers herself with prayer or meditation before a quick walk or a little yoga. The kids wake up and start working on their get ready checklist. Breakfast and their clothes are laid out the night before.  There are a few nudges to get back on track. When they are done, then they are able to watch TV if they want.

She grabs the clothes she laid out the night before. She takes a quick shower thinking a good outcome for this day. She peeks out to see how the kids are doing, does a little managing then gets her grooming done.

Only then does she check her phone for the news and peeks at her email while eating her breakfast.

They have time to chat as they get coats and backpacks on and get in the car. They know they aren’t going to be late, so there is an easy-going conversation (and a few “he’s touching mes”). After dropping the kids off, she is on her way.

Which house sounds more like your house in the morning? Are there any tweaks you can make to create a calmer morning?

 

 

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