Mornings

"Wake up baby."

I feel a gently pushing and slowly open my eyes. Light trickles into the room from under the curtain as I crinkle my eyes to bring the room into focus. I look at the clock and the numbers 6:40 glow back at me in a neon green. Sleep is still heavy on me as I look down at Annabel who is sleeping undisturbed. I slowly slide out of the bed and I look for my pants on the floor. I stumble around and almost fall as I try to get my legs inside before walking to the door and then downstairs to the kitchen.

Logan and Vincent are eating cereal at the table while Arwen is getting dressed in her room. I walk to the counter where I left the lunch boxes after cleaning out their backpacks the day before. I lay them open on the table and place the easy stuff in first: chips, mandarin oranges, raisins, fruit roll ups. When that is done I pull out the bread to make Logan's jelly sandwich. I trim off the edges of the bread before slathering on the jam. When it's covered I cut it the sandwich into 4 pieces. I place it into a sandwich bag and lay it inside his lunch box.

After his lunch is done I pull out a container for Arwen's. I put in shredded sharp cheddar cheese before pulling out oven roasted turkey and slicing several pieces into thin strips. I separate the meat and cheese and put it into the container.

When I finish I quickly put together Arwen's snack. After I walk to the fridge and grab ice packs which I put into their lunch boxes. I place her bags inside her backpack and Logan's inside of his. I clean the table of any bread crumbs or cheese. Meanwhile Jimbo has dressed the boys and they are ready to wait for the bus.

I brush the boys hair, hug and kiss them as they go to wait outside with their Daddy for the bus. When it's time for Arwen, she tries to stall. Her hair is once again tangled beyond belief. The curls naturally intertwine and brushing them out is painful. I spray leave in conditioner on her curls in an effort to tame them and to ease the pulling caused by brushing. Every morning this one thing is the worst part of our routine and today is no different. I'm beyond relieved when I finally place her hair into a ponytail and tell her, "all done!"

She rushes out of the room and I follow her. By now the bus has ran and Jimbo is back inside. He has made his cup of coffee for the road and stands holding it along with a drink for Arwen. I grab Arwen's jacket and help her put it on. She kisses me goodbye and hugs me hard before walking out the door to the car.

I shut the door behind them and walk to the table. Vincent's and Logan's bowls sit where they left them and I stare at them for several moments before grabbing them and placing them into the dishwasher. I put away anything else that was left behind and make my way upstairs to Annabel.

It's just another morning in the S household.