I dropped both my kids off at their respective schools this morning, and as I walked away from the last building and down the driveway to my car, my hot Irish Breakfast tea in my favorite travel mug, breathing in the crisp morning air, finally alone for the first time in a week, a sudden wave of peace came over me. Ahhhhhh.... And I got to thinking on my short drive home about all the things I'd like to fit into my daily routine.
____________________I'd love to be able to get up at 6:00 ready to start my day, the rest of my family still slumbering quietly. I'd like to get up and do about an hour of
yoga to get me going, followed by a hot shower before I would awake my sleeping babies. They of course would rouse with smiling faces and sparkling eyes, and do all of their morning chores without word one from me, while I made us all a nice hot breakfast.
I'd then take them off to school, where I'd get hugs and kisses and watch them skip merrily along. I'd go home and take the dog for a lovely morning walk, because I do love that cool crispness of the morning air. (He of course would never pull on his leash, or whine at the cats). Then I'd go back home for another cuppa and sit at my laptop to complete my list of "must-stops" on the information super highway. I'd tiddy the kitchen, get a few chores out of the way, and would always have time to put in that
long overdue phone call to a
friend.
I'd pick up Little Man and we'd go straight to the park, where he would happily play on one section of the playground, so I could sit on a bench and watch him, rather than following him around from one corner of the earth to another every two and a half minutes. Then we'd go home and I'd make us lunch, which of course he would love and eat every bit of. Then we'd cuddle up to read several stories, and he'd never interrupt, listening to every word and waiting until the appropriate times to comment nicely on the illustrations. I'd lay him in bed with a hug and a kiss, and he'd drift off quietly for a good 2 hour nap. This would give me time to watch my brain-cell destroying
show (but in this version let's say it's stimulating and enlightening, shall we?), and still have time to reply to emails, and work on some writing.
He'd wake up just in time to go get Ella from school. She would prance out happy to see me, and not at all tired or cranky. Perhaps we'd go get ice cream, or run a quick errand. We'd get home and the kids would play nicely together, taking turns on the
computer, or playing outside. Then we'd do some sort of activity together in which no messes were made and no tears were shed, and no yelling was done on anyone's part.
They'd clean up their toys, never trying to argue their way out of it, because they know how easy and fast it really is, and then maybe watch an educational program on TV while I made a gourmet dinner from scratch. When Bubblehead walked in the door we'd all sit down to dinner, and have a lovely conversation, getting all the details of the kids' day at school, no Veggie Tales vignettes played out with the green beans, and nobody would have any complaints about the meal. Bubblehead would bathe the kids while I quickly cleaned up from dinner and set out our clothes for the next day. We'd all play a game together, which would not drag on and on for what seems like hours. I'd read to Ella from
Little House on the Prairie, and she would hang on my every word, genuinely interested in just how Pa got that door hung without the use of hinges or nails, and she would never interrupt me mid-sentence to comment on random things we talked about three days ago.
I'd kiss and hug both of them, and they'd fall off to sleep, and I would enjoy a relaxing evening with Bubblehead, consisting of a highly sweet, non-fattening dessert and still more tea, and a good
movie, with no programming containing more than just one or two "f&%@ this" or "f&*# that". My home clean and tiddy, I'd go to bed at a reasonable hour and have time enough to do a little
reading before drifting off, knowing that I would get uninterrupted sleep until morning.
____________________You know, it is truly amazing how similar this is to my typical day, and yet how very far off it is at the same time. Time to go though - I have to scramble to get the kitchen clean, go to bed where I will lay awake staring at the TV for at least an hour, and then finally fall asleep, knowing that
both the kids will be trying to squeeze into our very small bed around midnight. That's okay - at least I don't have to get up at 6:00 to do yoga! :)
