Mornings are a challenge.
There’s breakfast to be made and consumed, pajamas to be shed and clothes to find a put on. My kids grumble a bit about all these things.
And quite frankly, I don’t blame them. I really don’t want anything other than coffee until 10am and would happily stay in my pajamas all day. So, um, they come by this honestly.
But we do need to get to school, work, and all those other things that exist out there beyond the walls of our house.
We’ve mostly nailed down the getting dressed and eating thing. But the last thing that was making me crazy was getting stuff together. We try to walk out the door at 8:30am, but at 8:40am, we’re inevitably still looking for a glove or hat or something. Things are supposed to make their way into cubbies, but, arg, we’re always missing something.
My new rule? At 8:00am you must stop what you’re doing and find every single thing you need for the day. If you don’t find it then, you won’t have it for the day. This might sound a bit cutthroat, but I know my kids. They really do want to go to school with two gloves and their hat (no recess unless you have the proper attire). They like to eat lunch. But they also like to procrastinate just as much as I do in the morning. We can all use a deadline here and there, right?
At 8:10am this morning, I couldn’t have been happier to see this big pile of stuff, ready for the day.
Hallelujah.