An earlier time does me no good however when he lays in bed for 25 minutes after his alarm went off.
"Did your alarm not go off?", I ask calmly. "It went off."
"Did you set it for the school time instead of the hike time?", again, calmly trying to get an answer I know is futile. "Nope, I set it for the hike time."
"Then, what exactly were you doing for the first 25 minutes you should have been getting ready?!", my questions getting a little more heated. "I laid in bed."
"WHY?!?!?", I ask in sheer desperation (and let's be honest, anger too) of understanding what was so different with this morning vs. any other morning. "I didn't know what to do...." Is EVERY 14 year old like this?!?! Funny b/c when I came down the stairs, he was gathering his clothes for his shower...the first things he would have done if he'd just gotten up when the alarm went off. So I'm not buying the "I didn't know what to do" crap. He knew exactly what to do when he realized he was about to get in trouble. So as with every pre-morning hike routine, I'm knocking on the bathroom door, checking with him every 2 minutes, reminding him of what he should be doing next only to watch him move at a snail's pace. I know English isn't his first language but after living in my house, I know he knows what the word "hustle" means. I just don't think his body knows how to do it. At least I've never seen it. It puts me in such a bad mood so quickly. I HATE being in that flurry-upset mode and I can't imagine he likes it much either. I hate getting him ready to go somewhere in that kind of a mood; it's a lot harder to keep my emotions in check and now with my hormones all over the place, you'd think in a simple act of self-preservation he'd think ahead. That doesn't seem to fly with the 14-year-old male mind though!
So he's off. He's on the way to his hike and I'm sure he'll do just fine. I've calmed down. The other kids have since woke up and we're on to cleaning up the aftermath of the preschooler that still struggles with the occasional bed-wetting and teaching him the difference between the truth and a lie, as well as the toddler who is being put down for her mid-morning nap since, based on the theatrics of the last 20 minutes, she's exibited a NEED for it. ;) This of course is all on the heels of a night of restless sleep for the little ones which, after you start to get used to them sleeping through the night, a restless one kinda takes you back. And of course, once I finally started to rest and Little Miss started going bezerk in my belly, my mind began racing that in just 4 short months, a newborn would be added to the mix. Most days I know I'm up for it; can't wait for it in fact. Some moments though, like in the middle of a sleepless night or when I start thinking about the cluster of teen years to come, I wonder... There are many moments that I'm grateful for my relationship with Eric but I'm especially grateful for him when this stuff feels overwhelming. He reminds me not to get caught up in the little stuff and is supportive in a way I've never known. He holds me close, listens and I know that as long as we've got each other, we can handle whatever comes our way. Even if it's 4 kids on a Saturday morning. ;)
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