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