Quality Mornings

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I have a secret to tell you, but you have to promise not to tell anybody else, okay?  Okay.  Well, the truth is quality mornings at my house are few and far between.  It’s not that I don’t enjoy having quality time with my kids in the morning, and it’s not that I don’t try to make morning a time for us to enjoy being together; in fact, I think it’s more the fact that we are all in a hurry to get going and to get our day started that keeps us from spending a bit more time together.  Half of us (myself included) are not morning people in the least, while the other half are happily milling about the kitchen, singing a tune or chatting unendingly, which creates a very interesting dynamic in our home!  I guess the quality in our morning is the fact that the non-morning people are able to refrain from yelling at the morning-loving people!

Whatever the case may be, mornings at our house are simply a time when we’re all just starting to function and we’re moving very robotically to get the few tasks on our list accomplished.  My two oldest children wake up the earliest and are usually enjoying breakfast while I’m getting ready for the day.  I think eating breakfast is the part of their morning routine that helps them to wake up, as they are much chattier and louder (often having to be quieted, as their youngest brother is still sleeping) once they’ve finished eating.  Their younger brother, Ellis (our third child), is usually awake and watching cartoons while they’re having breakfast, though on a rare occasion he will come upstairs and eat with them (though he is definitely one of us who needs more time to wake up, so it is truly a very rare occasion!).  Since he and his older brother share a bedroom, he is woken up when the alarm goes off at 6:00am.  We’ve finally got him in a routine of enjoying a little down time in front of the TV when he wakes up before he starts his day; this ensures that he is going to start his day on a much better note, having been given the chance to fully wake up before going through his morning routine, and it guarantees that he won’t wake his youngest brother earlier than necessary!

For my school age children, there is not much time allowed for us to spend together in the mornings, as we are all set in our routine of going from zombies to our happy selves!  Due to this fact, it is often the case that the kids get themselves breakfast in the morning, most frequently enjoying a bowl of cereal, and get out the door to the bus stop.  Thankfully, we are able to make up for our mornings before bed, as evenings are often filled with family time and each of our kids still gets tucked into bed with hugs and “I love you’s”.  For now, this quality time is perfect for our family.

When is the best time for you to find the quality time we all need?

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