Mornings

I've always loved mornings.  After I get past the initial alarm going off and getting out bed while it still feels like the middle of the night, nothing beats quiet mornings.  Mornings make me think of jumping into the pool at 5:30 every day during high school.  College mornings were spent running down to the boat house and rowing while the sun rose on the Charles River.  Mornings remind me of bottomless coffee and Karunesh and fresh air.  I think of Bali and family and our breakfasts accompanied by traditional, yet somewhat ecclectic, Balinese music.  They remind me of Ironman training when I was in the best shape of my life, and of 5 mile walks (or waddles...) towards the end of each of my pregnancies.  I've spent mornings running 10 miles by myself and listening to music, running 24 miles with Jim where we'd chat about life, and running 3 miles with one of the little ones babbling away in the jogging stroller.  Lilly, Jack and Hannah were all born between 5:30 and 6:50 in the morning.  It's like they knew that morning is my favorite time of day, and what better way to start it than bringing a baby into the world.

Picture courtesy of little hunches--one of my favorite websites.

Mornings have evolved over the years, but they're still the time of day that I enjoy most.  After having children, Jim and I quickly learned that we prefer to wake up early and have some time to ourselves before little people start talking and running around.  Before we start changing diapers and answering questions and being parents.  That doesn't mean that we're always up before the kids--in fact, this week, while we're up in New Hampshire, we've been sleeping until we hear Jack's inevitable, "Mommmy...Dadddddyyyy, where are you?" or until Lilly comes running into our room telling us her clock is green (greatest invention ever, by the way...a clock that changes from yellow to green when Lilly and Jack are allowed to come out of their room, which is currently set to turn green at 7:30).

Every time a new baby is born, our morning routine changes for a little while, and now it's changing again.  Jim has taken a new job in NYC, which means that he has to wake up at 4:30 to be on the 5:10 train.  I've been trying to get up with him (or at least to be awake with him as he gets ready) so that we get to see each other for that brief quiet time in the morning.  It's only been a week of this new job so we're still figuring out how things will work but know that this is temporary and a move in the right direction, even if our day now starts at least an hour earlier than it used to.  After Jim leaves to catch the train, I still have two hours before my day really begins. I've discovered that those two hours are my most productive time of the day.  Sometimes Hannah is awake and sometimes she's still asleep.  Lilly and Jack are asleep.  I get to decide whether I'm going to workout, read, write, or take a long shower.  It's like I've been given the gift of time to myself, which is funny, since it's always been there.  Early mornings mean early bedtimes, which works for us.  All three little ones now go to bed by 7, so Jim and I can still have a couple of hours together and be in bed early.  It's definitely a transition.  And we're tired.  But mornings are still my favorite time of day.