morning routine

Mornings are hard. I’ve admitted this in the past: I like my bed and I don’t like to get out of it because it’s amazing and warm and the world is a cold, hard place especially on a Monday morning when you have a crazy busy day staring you in the face! The cool thing for us is that we are a homeschool family which allows for some flexibility in our schedule. However, I don’t sleep in and I rarely let my kids sleep in. We are up and (mostly) functioning by 8:00, which might seem late to some of you, but in the homeschooling world, we would be considered early birds by many!

There’s one more thing I need to tell you about myself before I proceed to my point. (Well, it’s kinda a point, sorta. Not a terribly important point today, but maybe a valuable point for someone? Idk.) It took me years to admit this, but I am not a morning person. Shocker, RIGHT?! Happy, bubbly Kathy does not wake up and immediately want to speak to or interact with anyone who is instantly joyful or energetic when they set foot out of bed. Do not ask me tough questions like where to find a new tube of toothpaste. Do not tell me a joke or tease me. It’s not funny at 22% awakeness. Please do not start a conversation about anything important, such as what my plans are for the day or what I’m making for dinner hours later.  I don’t need a cup of coffee. I need time. Eventually I will become happy and bubbly Kathy, but I need to shake all the cobwebs from the brain and put my mind in functioning mode, which takes me time. (Unless it’s 3:00 a.m. when I wake up in an instant thinking very clearly and anxiously about something that is giving me stress. What is up with that?!)

So I developed a morning routine...of sorts. I sleep with my phone on my nightstand (horror of all horrors 😳). I leave it on all night. I put the “do not disturb” on so it doesn’t ring or vibrate or anything. And when I wake up in the morning, after my hubs has left for work (because I don’t conversate in the wee hours of 6:00 a.m.), I grab my phone and I look at it. Criticize all you want. At this point in my life, I don’t care. I am just trying to wake up, you guys! Consider this my “morning cup of coffee.”

But here’s the thing. I don’t go to Facebook and Instagram and start reading everybody’s morning business. I find America’s Funniest Videos and watch people fall off of trampolines or bellyflop into a lake or ride a hovercraft thingy and fall on their bum. And I smile and giggle at other people’s misfortune. (That sounds terrible.... There’s other funny stuff too, where people aren’t getting hurt, I promise!) Sometimes I watch Jimmy Fallon’s hashtags because the people of the Tweeting world are funny! Or I watch a video about human kindness or charitable acts or anything uplifting.

I’m tired in the morning. I’m tired thinking about my day and I haven’t even gotten out of bed yet! I know this is my season in life (Is “tired” a season? It feels like a really long one...) and that someday I will wake up, bouncing out of bed to attack the day with vigor!! (Sheesh. Even that sounds tiring!) But this season is not that.

So I choose to start my day by waking up to things that set my mood for the rest of the day. Videos that make me smile, stories that make my heart happy, people that brighten my day with their words. Every once in a while there will be a text waiting for me from a friend that makes me smile as soon as I read it! (Making me smile before my eyes can see clearly - that’s impressive!)

Congratulations to those of you who wake up with a smile on your face. But kudos to those of you who drag yourselves out of bed even though you need an additional 20-30 minutes to feel human. I am right there next to you, not saying a word because words are dumb at early o’clock in the morning.

KC

This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us be glad and rejoice in it!
Psalm 118:24

chain reaction

I was at GEMS this evening. (It’s a young girls group at a local church. I volunteered to be a counselor a few years back and it turns out that I’m as mature as the girls in the group so it’s a good fit!) I have the privilege of leading the devotions almost every time we meet. Tonight’s devotion (which I can’t take any credit for because I didn’t write it), was about chain reactions. It’s along the lines of a topic that I’ve touched on before, but it’s been a while and it’s worth repeating!

This year in our GEMS program, we talked a lot about blessing others. Tonight’s devotion was about blessing someone and how that can lead to a chain reaction of that person blessing someone else and so on and so forth.

I likened it to the “Pay It Forward” Movement (that used to happen frequently at Starbucks in the drive-thru line) and none of the girls really knew what I was talking about (or their attention span was super short tonight. Could have been both! I’m not sure.) So I explained that when someone does something nice for you and you don’t know how to repay them for it, if they tell you to pay it forward that means to do a kind deed for someone else. (I saw a couple of light bulbs turn on with that. Progress!)

Now, I don’t know exactly how guys work because I’ve never been one, but for most of the women I know, when something kind is said to them or done for them, the feeling they get is so fulfilling that they want to share it. Compliment them on their shoes or hair, bring them a coffee or flowers, even remember them on their birthday (I’m utterly the worst at this) or send a random encouraging text and you have made their day!

I’ve randomly complimented people I don’t know in stores before and they are so taken aback by it that they hardly know how to respond! That reaction right there tells me that it doesn’t happen near enough in this world. If complimenting strangers feels weird to you (I’m a bit strange myself so I’m cool with that), it’s fine to stick with the people you know. They probably need to hear it too! Even your kids, y’all. Build them up like crazy! It’s a great way to be an example to them.

So today’s challenge (and actually the “Rest of Your Life” Challenge): find someone to bless and bless them with a kind word, compliment, encouragement, a cupcake, coffee, flowers from your garden (people: everything is blooming in California right now!) or one of this funny memes on your phone that you can now send via text to people! That’s my favorite! ❤️

From what I remember, it takes about a month for a habit to develop. I think this would be the best habit to develop over the next month. Just sayin’!

By the way: your hair looks great today and you have a beautiful smile!

Love,
KC

the best gift

There are days when I wonder how in the world I am ever going to prepare my kids for real life when many days I, myself, don’t feel prepared for real life. It’s not as though my parents did a terrible job of raising me. They did a fantastic job, actually! They pushed me in my strengths and supported me through my weaknesses (*cough, cough, basketball*). They taught me numerous life skills and provided an excellent education. And they loved me through everything.

Now, as a grown up, there are some mornings I really don’t feel like getting out of bed. It’s a two-fold problem, really. My bed is deliciously comfortable. We recently upgraded to a king size bed that isn’t indented or smooshy anywhere. I also have an infatuation with comfortable blankets (I refuse to count how many are in this house. I’m sure we have room for more.) Oh, and I finally found a pillow that is the perfect shape for my neck and head. With all this warm goodness, I have created a beautiful cocoon that takes all my will power to crawl out of in the morning.

The other problem I have in the morning is that once I get up, I have to start a busy day. (I’m sure many of you have crazier schedules than mine so I won’t complain.) Starting the day means that I have to finish the day and once my feet hit the floor, then my determination and self-discipline have to take over because: do you know how much easier it would be to stay in bed and not do all the things and see all the people?! I love our things and people, but it still takes effort to get going in the right direction in the morning.

So, what if I’m not doing a good job of teaching my kids to be self-disciplined or determined? What if I’m creating lazy children or maybe I’m actually putting too much pressure on them? What if I haven’t given them the tools to deal with the scary people, the mean people, the people who need to be understood, and those that need to see their love? There are a thousand things I’ve neglected or done wrong, I’m sure of it. I know this because I see it in my own life. I’m so far from having life figured out. It’s like the longer I live, the more I realize just how much I don’t know. (Can I please get an “Amen!” on that one?!)

But you know what gift I have that HAS prepared me for real life? It’s the same gift I keep striving to give my children. The gift of God. A great, big, wonderful God. A God who is always victorious, always looking over us. A great, big, wonderful God. (I couldn’t help it, the childhood melody crept back into my brain as I started writing it, begging me to continue.)

There is no way for me to anticipate all that my children are going to experience in their lives. I’ve got them under my roof for approximately 18 years. Chances are good that they are going to live 65-75 years after that, NOT under my roof! (Let’s hope and pray, folks.) And I can’t hold their hand at that point anymore. (Because that might look a little strange and their friends might make fun of them.) That’s when I’m going to hang onto the promise that God’s got my children in the palm of His hand and trust the upbringing that God directed through me to them: to call on Him for help and strength.

Now, if you hear some crazed gal yelling out to God tomorrow morning, it’s probably just me trying to get out of bed...

KC