A rough start.

It is never a good sign when I wake up on a weekday morning not to the sound of my alarm clock, but to the sound of a little girl's voice: "Mom? Do we have school today?"

And what is it about Mom Brain that causes us to know when our children are approaching our bed, even before we're really aware that we're not sleeping anymore? I swear there is this incredibly long pause between the moment I realize one of my offspring is making their way into my room and the time they actually speak.

This morning, still in that groggy state between dreamland and reality, I heard those telltale creaks from the floor and feet shuffling across my bedroom carpet. It was dark. I actually thought (hoped?) it was the middle of the night and maybe someone wasn't feeling well. But no. It was 6:37 a.m.

Six thirty seven!!

You know that rush of panic, right?

I quickly calculated what it would take to get everyone ready and out the door to the bus stop by 6:50. In 10-ish minutes? Not a chance.

Well. I shouldn't say there was no chance. I've seen them do it. And if I had to be out the door to work that early we would have made it happen. But oooh, I hate that kind of rushing around. So I plopped my head back down on the pillow, alarm clock still in my hands, and told Rachel I guessed I'd be taking them to school today. And then I forced myself to stay awake long enough to reset the alarm clock for about a half hour from then. And then I actually turned it on. Turns out that's a pretty important step.

When Steve reads this I'm sure it will give him a great laugh. We have this thing about the alarm clock. Our routine (when we actually get to sleep in the same bed) goes something like this:
"Did you set the alarm clock?"
"Yes."
"Did you turn it on?"
*eyebrow raised* "Yeeeess."
And then the alarm clock setter/turner-on-er double checks to make sure.

Yeah. We have a history of missing, not hearing, forgetting to turn on, setting for p.m. instead of a.m., or just plain turning off the alarm in a near-comatose sleep state. It does not make for smooth mornings when this happens.

Ah well. We manage. I was actually glad to take the kids to school this morning because it got me outside to feel the spring-like air. It was 50 degrees here yesterday, and it was 37 when we left this morning. By the time I pulled back in from dropping the kids off I could hear birds singing when I got out of the truck. I just finished a cup of coffee, the house is quiet, the dog is lying at my feet, and I have a little time to enjoy it all before I head out to my babysitting gig. I can handle this.

We might have had a rough start to the day ... but it's only getting better.