I don't set alarm clocks. I don't need to.
The day climbs onto my bed and bounces up and down. Laughing. Saying things like, "Can you get up now? Are you awake, Mommy?" As if anyone could be asleep.
Some days are full of fight and yelling. The day pounds its feet up my hallway and cries, "Mom! He won't give me my (insert name of must-have-toy-or-world-will-end)! He ate my toast! He sat on my head!" Of course the day does not take all the facts into account. Ones brother is probably reacting to having his head sat on first.
Sometimes the days wake me with giggles and sloppy kisses on my cheek. Little hands sneak under the covers to grip my own. " I love you, Mommy," the day's voice whispers. Those days have blue eyes. The kind that house 'Cheeky' and 'Cute' in equal proportions.
Some days don't bother to come into my room at all. Those days sound like stomping feet in the kitchen and banshee calls of, "Mom, there's no milk left!" On those days even the covers over my head don't hide me.
Sometimes the day is whiny. Fretful. Or just plain needs to go back to bed. The day gets started on the wrong foot and I find myself hugging it to my chest while it sobs incoherent things with its thumb in its mouth. The day can be so little then. So needy. But I wake to it anyway. I rise with only half myself up and the other half of me laying unaware still kissing the moonlight. Sometimes I rise with not much of me at all. Only a teaspoonful of me is available to change wet bedsheets, kiss the bleary eyes and welcome the breakfast dishes and piles of laundry.
Other days I, well, I'd like to say some days wake me with a superwoman outfit. But that day hasn't come yet. I keep waiting for it. Do you suppose it's just late?
Some days are 24 hours long. TWENTY. FOUR. HOURS. And I wonder if it might let me take a nap or go to the toilet in peace. I don't wonder for long. The day is banging at my door, kicking my walls and refusing to co operate.
But this I know.
One day, oh shiny day, those mornings will be a memory. A tiny piece of the way we were. The day will come when I won't be as needed. I will wake in my own time to greet the sun in my own way.
One day, oh sad day, no little hands will need help to pour milk on their cereal or butter their toast.
One day, oh happy day, I will wake to a house of quiet.
But for today, and for lots of tomorrows, I don't set alarm clocks. I don't need to.
What about you? What kind of day wakes you today?
My day didn't wake me today, I had to wake it. And it told me that it's neck hurts, inside where the tonsils are. Funny how the day knows about tonsils, but not what to call a throat. My day involves lots of reading aloud, comforting, and (for a short time) a bit of time to myself while he naps.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your day, Tabitha!
No alarm clocks for me either. And there really is something about those wee little hands that need us!
ReplyDelete~ Wendy
Thank you for writing this and reminding me of how short the time really is!
ReplyDeleteThere are days when day wakes me up, but there are days when I need to wake day up. I use an alarm clock, just in case.
ReplyDeleteBut to get to the point- fantastically written post.
I have to use an alarm clock. The funny thing is if I hit the snooze button, the second time it buzzes and I don't get up - Little One (the cat in my profile photo) is right there patting me with her paw as a reminder.
ReplyDeleteMason
Thoughts in Progress
I am less than a year away from that sad day/happy day, and I have to say, there is a little hollow building under my heart...
ReplyDeleteLOL...As a mom of two girls...I can SOOO relate to this :)
ReplyDeleteMy day usually wakes me with a lick of my face, followed by a "must go out", hurry dance. :)
ReplyDeleteJules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow
Tabitha, you took me down memory lane to those days you so wonderfully described. I don't supposed I appreciated them but as they are all adults with children of their own they are expereincing what I yearn for, Today I live alone.....I am not lonely I count my blessings go for a walk along the beach. It was not supposed to be like this once the children had flown the nest it was going to be "Our Time" dreams of retirement , holidays together.
ReplyDeleteBut it was not meant to be. I am grateful I am here to see my grandchildren grow and my own children wonderful parents.
Yvonne.
Lovely post, Tabitha. My little ones are all four legged, but they're more successful at getting me out of bed than any alarm clock. I could probably sleep through the meows, but I dare not ignore the little guy whimpering to go out for his walk.
ReplyDeleteThat day is coming closer and closer for me.
ReplyDeleteYes, cherish those days because they won't last forever. I still don't need alarm clocks, but days wake me with "Mom, I need money for lunch." or "Mom, can I take the car after school today." I miss the little hands under the covers gripping mine.
ReplyDeleteI love Saturdays when my littlest climbs under my covers and squeezes in as close to me as possible:) Then I don't even mind not being able to sleep in.
ReplyDeleteI wake up when the sun comes up. If I want to go back to sleep for an hour ot two, then I'll set my alarm clock.
ReplyDeleteStephen Tremp
Unfortunately I wake up a few times a night. Never sleep through like I once did as a teenager. Those days are long gone. Blessings.
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice post.
ReplyDeleteMy days stumble and tumble downstairs to join me. On rare occassions a day or two will wake me with whispers in my ear, usually to the effect of "Mama, can we play the Wii?" The older of the days (if again a rare sleep-in day for me) will creak open my door and quietly ask "Mom, you're still sleeping, you okay?"
I love the smiley days and grumpy days alike.
Drink in these kinds of mornings and savour them as long as you can. My little one's hands and feet are large and size 10's respectively. I miss being able to pick them up and hold them. As a mother, I will always ache not to be able to do it any longer.
ReplyDeleteAlarm clocks are so over-rated, but, yes, hang on to these little wake-up calls, as soon they definately will be a distant, but fond memory. I, too, have a four-legged alarm clock but she'll usually roll over and go back to sleep if I beg..:)
ReplyDeleteMy child is grown, but I still don't need an alarm clock. My dog Bosco wakes me promptly at 4:30 every morning. He is supposed to wait until five. So we negotiate. I invite him up on the bed and he snuggles in for half an hour, then we get up. If I fall back asleep for too long, he will bop me with his paw lol. He does not understand days off or Sundays. He does, however, allow me to go back to bed later, if I insist.
ReplyDeleteI wake...without alarm or prompt. Internal clock hands wind throughout the day and release at night, regulate the number of hours my eyes open to the day. I prefer it this way, as if the world decides the point of my re-entry.
ReplyDeletethank you for all the comments guys. I do read them all, but I prefer to go to your blogs then sit here and reply on my own blog. Have a great Friday all :)
ReplyDeleteBrought a smile to my face... I wake up with the sun... I mean this... whenever the sun rises, it is like my senses are attached to it... I just wake up... I may not necessarily get up, but I sure wake up then.
ReplyDeleteToday, I woke up with a sad memory. Well, you've just visited my blog. So, you might know what I am on about.
I wake up with a fresh energy and enthusiasm that I must make the most of today. The thought is subjective, still, I try to make the most of it.
PS: Yes, I am in Brisbane. I stay close to the QUT, Kelvin Grove Campus. The other nearest landmark would be The Royal Brisbane Hospital. Hmm, we could meet up! :)
24 hours feels impossible some days, doesn't it? Good thing for weekends.
ReplyDeletePS: Loved how you wrote, "The day climbs onto my bed and bounces up and down."
How are you not agented and published yet? SEsriously, Tabitha. We were talking about all the people we wished could be at the ACFW conference last weekend and we brought your name up (of course) and I mentioned how much I love your voice. You always manage to make me teary. Thanks for helping me appreciate these days more - when my little man needs me.
ReplyDeleteLoved this post Tabitha. Its nice to be woken up by day.
ReplyDeleteFor me my morning jog beckons. Perhaps it's the deserted roads and the cool early morning breeze.
http://rachnachhabria.blogspot.com/2010/09/13-elements-of-good-story.html
I'm noticing a new depth and lightness to your writing these days. Writing that has always been brilliant has taken on color like the best of dawns. Just wanted you to know.
ReplyDelete