I have never been a morning person. The worst part of most days has always been....and continue to be the struggle to get out of my nice cozy bed. With that accomplished...I am usually feeling empowered and ready to take on the world. My morning struggle has become even more of just that.....a struggle.....since Alex has become a tween.....and now teen.
In the summer of 2002, I lamented that I would have to spend the next 16 years getting up at 5:30 in the morning...as I prepared to send my first child off to middle school at a much earlier hour than I was accustomed to. I was so stressed by this...that I figured out how many years I would have to arise at this ungodly hour....16 years!! I am in the middle of year 11. For awhile there, the mornings got easier. The girls got up on their own and I would only need to be cognizant that they were up and moving...and I could delay the actual feet on the floor for a bit. But last year, Alex entered middle school....and my morning routine became much more difficult, and that my friends is an understatement.
Here he is this morning at around 8:30 a.m. refusing to get up for church...so you can imagine what a normal weekday morning is like... It is not for the faint of heart...it is a burning and fiery place. It is awful and getting myself...and then Alex out of bed and out the door is the worst part of my day, perhaps of anyone's day anywhere!!
I have gotten Alex a few different variations of alarm clocks, thinking that maybe the whole disagreeable process would become somewhat easier if he wakes himself up, never mind the idea that I am not always going to be present to do the dirty deed (thank God for small miracles). This year, as I was doing my Christmas shopping, I "googled "obnoxious" alarm clocks. Alyssa was away at school and we spent one hilarious night that consisted of me sending her links of such alarm clocks...and then the ensuing amusement and discussion about which one would be the most difficult to ignore, causing him the most pain and suffering. with the end goal of getting him out of bed. In the end, I decided on a laser gun model. It has a target, and if you hit the target in the dead center the alarm clock will stop...and I reasoned that this would take a bit of alertness and focus. If you hit anywhere on the target it is like hitting the snooze button. This would do the trick!! I was pretty proud of myself!! That boy was going to get up in the morning and I wasn't going to have a breakdown in the process!! Win -win!!
Well, let's just say the joke has been on me. Alex started off by setting his alarm clock to 5:30 ( he really needs to get up around 6, boys being lower maintenance with morning routines) and "snoozing" it until 6:00. then 6:10 etc. You get the picture, I still had to get involved and wake him up and deal with the awful attitude, arguments that school is stupid, I am mean etc. This weekend we had to endure it going off at 5:30 in the morning when no one needed to get up at that hour...and we learned that Alex has already learned to sleep through the darn thing.
So....as you are all; groggily getting up tomorrow, having your nice quiet cup of coffee and getting ready to start your day, think of me. I have already been to the battlefield, done battle and am trying to get past the post traumatic stress by telling myself that the day can only get better from there. Rise and Shine!
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