Back when the kids were small(er), they were such early risers.  They were up by 5:30 or 6:00 each morning, ready to greet the day.  Now that we have places to go in the morning, they are better sleepers, sometimes having to be nudged out of bed with just enough time to fly out the door.  The day always starts out better when they wake up on their own, so I try to gently encourage waking up when it appears that they may need a little help.  So far, I'm still pretty sensitive to their feelings - opening the blinds slightly, propping open the door so that morning sounds can sneak into their rooms, and singing songs about morning and sunshine.  Mostly I think about how my dad used to wake us up, then do the opposite.  That leaves me wide open for anything that isn't ripping the covers off of the bed and yelling at them to GET UP.

This morning, Sophie and I were up earlier than everyone else.  We looked at our seedlings, watered the plants, switched the laundry, and prepared our bags for the day.  I went to get Sophie some clothes, and heard her whispering to Marty who was still resting peacefully in bed.  "Daddy?" she whispered. "Do you like rainbows?"

Which I'm sure caused him to wonder just how he managed to land in this spot in life.


Sophie starting out the day well-hydrated using her Hello Kitty watercooler, a treasure recovered this weekend at a garage sale.