Please, Just Ten Minutes…

I am a morning person. I have been since I was very young. But I never realized how much I enjoyed my mornings until they were cruelly ripped away from me by my second child.

My first born was an awesome baby. He would sleep from 11pm -5am from about 2 weeks old. He would wake me up, usually by giggling and banging on his crib. We were both morning people. We would eat breakfast and spend hours playing until his dad got up around 9. It was easy. He was such a happy, cheerful little dude. I didn’t realize how awesome it was at the time, but it truly was. We had so much fun together.

Then, everything changed. Into our routine burst a teeny, tiny little 6 lb angel who did not share her brother’s ability to sleep. She was awake about every 1.5 hours. Not only that, she would scream at the top of her little lungs. Every morning I was being awoken by the screams of small, grumpy child who was irate for about the first 15 minutes of being awake. She would usually wake up her brother too. For months I was just grouchy. I thought maybe I wasn’t sleeping enough. Then it hit me, I had lost my morning peace and quiet. I had lost my quiet time.

I started to set my alarm for 4:45am, hoping to wake before my daughter. I would sneak into the kitchen, make myself a cup of tea, and sit on the sofa with one of my dogs curled up on my lap. Silence. No phone, no ipad, no tv. Just alone with my thoughts. It was blissful. It was the perfect start to my day, I had time to gather my own thoughts. I could drink a hot drink that was actually still hot.

It got to the point where I no longer needed just to sit. Sometimes I took the time to empty the dishwasher or fold a load of laundry. Anything was easier when I did not have two toddlers running around creating chaos.

I know mums who are not morning people who are fortunate to have kids that nap. Those mums will take their 10 minutes in the afternoon when the kids are asleep. I know mums who wake up and read bible passages for 10 minutes, some who will read a gossip website or even check their Facebook.

However you choose to spend your time I urge you to please try and just find 5-10 minutes to yourself at least once at day. We can’t all be like the dad out there who can disappear to the restroom for 30 minutes of uninterrupted silence.