Early Morning Coffee

Hi to all!

Update since my last post: We now have TWO babies.  Abigail is 2 and Emerson is 3 months.  Coffee shop is continuing to do great.

Oh and…farm/homestead living!!

We aren’t completely there yet, but the mentality is there.  I dream of being the wife/mom that wakes up early to feed the chickens and goats, home schools the kids, makes her own yogurt and bread, tends to the bees, cloth diapers the kids, grows a garden, cooks with cast iron, and walks around either barefoot or in muddied boots.

Our current living situation allows me to do a few of these things.  And I have been.  I have succeeded in making yogurt, bread, container gardening (unsuccessful, but tried), barefoot walking, cloth diapering, and waking up early.   The hardest thing (AND done the least) is waking up early.

With kids that already wake up at 7am, I justify 7am sufficient enough.  However, by waking up when the kiddos wake up, I have become a reactionary mother.  One who….reacts to situations, not takes control.  Yes, there is A LOT of reacting in parenting.  But that shouldn’t be all that you do, right?  It can’t be.  Otherwise, you will drown.  It’s like partaking in a day-long pillow fight without giving yourself a serene pep-talk first.

This morning, my youngest sweet baby girl woke up at 6a and wanted to be awake.  Like for the day.  She was so happy to see me.  At 6am.  I, on the other hand, wasn’t so jovial.  In fact, I was pretty pissed.  I said a few not-nice words in my head…and maybe out loud when i greeted my early-rising husband in the kitchen this morning.  I immediately caught myself and had a moment.  Like one of those moments.  The ones that make you realize that something needs to change.  In that moment, I realized that I let the amount of sleep determine the potential of the day.  And that i love my sleep a little too much.  And that I have tendencies to put sleep before other things that i find important.  Things like my relationship with Jesus.  And my sanity.  And time spent with my husband.  And exercising.  And cleaning (lol, kidding.  not important).

When you have 2 young children, sleep is elusive anyways.  So, my natural tendency to sleep when I can is very understood.  Oh, and when you have 2 littles, most other important adult things are elusive too.  But, this is an excellent opportunity to get good at prioritizing.  [In college, I thought I was good at prioritizing.  LOL]  Daily, I have the opportunity to choose between some me-time things.  For my current situation, I get a me-time slot before kids wake up at 7a, and after they go to bed at 7p.  After they go to bed, I am POOOOOOOPED, so doing anything that requires even the slightest mental capacity isn’t happening.  Morning time it is.

HOW, you ask,  did I find time to write this post?  Because my 3 month old woke up at 6, then went down for a nap at 7:15, AND my toddler is singing delightfully in her crib.  I will take this opportunity to reflect and post on my blog.  All while drinking some Rwandan coffee.

Happy Thursday!!!

-Anna

The Culprits