Mornings

I am not a morning person.
Some mornings getting out of bed feels like a major accomplishment, most likely because I stayed up too late the night before, unable to say goodbye to the day.
As I struggle to wake up and form coherent thoughts my children are miles ahead of me, especially my daughter. She wakes up and before her eyes are fully open the words begin to pour out of her mouth with barely a breath in between, so much she has to tell me after her 10 hours of being unable to do so.  I try to patiently listen and respond.

After some thought I realized that I did not want her mornings to consist of a half awake, desperate for coffee mother barely able to respond to her questioning and insights. 
I came up with a solution to what I was beginning to see as a problem.
The solution is I wake up at 5am so I have 2 hours to drink a lot of coffee, clear my head, do morning prayers, and read. This way, when everyone wakes up I am able to greet them with a smile.  We have precious little time together on school mornings, and it is important to me that the time together be good time.

It is not easy for me to get up at 5. Some mornings I hit the snooze button on my phone to get a few extra minutes, and then I wake up with my phone cradled in my arms like my daughter holds her stuffed animals in her sleep.
I make my way downstairs, hit the on button for the coffee maker, and take the dog out into the morning that is still night.
After a time I hear the birds outside begin their morning song, and Fairy the Rooster starts his daily crowing. Roosters do not always crow with the rising sun, they start when the world is dark.  I drink coffee, sit on the couch and am kept company by my little dog and orange cat.