Morning Jump-Starts

I do not belong to a family of morning people. Why this is, I have no idea. Possibly it is genetics. I remember when my husband and I were first married and before we had kids, it was somewhat routine for us to sleep in on a Saturday morning until 11 or noon. Back in the good ol' days of apartment living, before becoming a slave to a home mortgage made it necessary to get up before the crack of 10 just to get all of the "chores" done on a weekend.

It is 8:30 in the morning, and my school-aged children are just beginning to trickle in. After having lived with all of these people for some time, I am starting to figure out what gets them going in the morning.

My oldest is twelve, and she is definitely her mother's daughter. What gets her going in the morning is to be allowed to peacefully sleep through it. This kid would love it if everyone in the world stayed up until 2am and then slept until 11 the next morning.

My nine (almost ten) year-old's jump start is breakfast cereal. It has been since before he was out of diapers. He wanders into the kitchen, almost trance-like, and fixes a HUGE bowl of whatever the favorite cereal of the month is. He's been on a Honey Bunches of Oats kick, lately.

Katy bar the door if there isn't any of "the good kind of cereal" left, or if we are out of milk. I should check with our doctor. Can one become addicted to Cinnamon Life?

My third child's jump start is as laid back as he is. Sometimes it is just to lie on the couch wrapped up in a blanket. Sometimes it is to play quietly with his toys. Today, I think he colored some pictures. Sometime in the next five hours he will come up and want his breakfast. He may decide that he would like to have it after we have already eaten lunch!

My baby--well, actually, she's five--still jump starts in that typical "tiny child" fashion. She makes a grand entrance with her toussled hair, clutching whatever stuffed animal got the privilege of keeping her company in the night and says in that sweet, sleepy voice, "Hi, Mommy. I'm awake." And then proceeds to climb into my lap for a bit of snuggle time.

As for me--I jump start the way millions of other adults across America do--with coffee. Strong, hot coffee.