Good Morning Sunshine
Madelyn, 2004
Because of this (and the fact that it’s easier for me to work when they’re asleep) I get up between 5 and 6 a.m. while my kids don’t start waking up until 9 or so.
I have a happier day when I can wake up to peace and take care of my needs for coffee,solitude and silence before tending to the needs of the children. The kids have a happier day when the first words they hear are “Good morning sunshine” rather than “quit stomping on the stairs please.”
Most of my kids wake up chipper and happy, eager to get on with the business of whatever they’re interested in. Sometimes in the night, they find their way into my bed. There’s always someone extra in there when we wake up. This morning it was Grace, she’s 4 years old. She wakes up and rubs her eyes a little, looks around the room and smiles when I say “good morning.” Then she turns and snuggles in, saying “good morning” to the baby, kissing each one of her little toes. Within minutes, they’re giggling, kissing and hugging and asking for pancakes.
When the pancakes are ready, they come to the table, holding hands and Grace insists that their plates be identical this morning. Matching plates are rare in our house 
Madelyn (6) comes down the stairs, we can hear her stomping. She’s a skinny little girl but sometimes I think she’s trying to press her foot through the stairs. Her first words to her sisters are “good morning” and she gives them each a kiss before sitting at the table for pancakes.
The other kids are asleep, it’s just me and the younger half most mornings. I don’t usually eat breakfast, I usually zip over to my computer to finish up whatever it is that I was working on when they woke up. As they finish their breakfast, they’re planning their first adventure for the day. “Grace, wanna go pick flowers with me?” or “Maddy I’m going to take a bath.” Every day it’s something new.
Some days I have surprises planned. Whether it’s an art project or a “field trip” (is there a non-school-y term for this… going somewhere just to learn more?) they’re usually excited about the plans I make. Since we both work from home, everyone doesn’t HAVE to go with us.
So what do your mornings look like? I was listening to a call-in radio show where the caller said something about how he can’t work from home because his kids go to school, the house is too loud in the morning. The host said “I know what you mean man, mornings are the worst.” Which was followed by an article I stumbled across that was trying to teach parents how to help their kids wake up in the morning for school.
I found the advice a bit sad, “Don’t let them press snooze” was probably the most painful. I remember how much I hated waking up for school as a kid, especially in high school. I’ve often thought that the “answer” to some of the problems schools have would be to operate a set of classes between noon and 6pm instead of forcing everyone to comply with the 8am-2pm thing. What’s wrong with waking up and getting a good start to the day. With school kids and their parents so over-scheduled, a 12noon start-time might help everyone start their day with a hearty breakfast and a peaceful home instead of the yelling, stress and rushing around that I hear so much about. Sure, some people function better in the morning, I’m not one of them, though.
This is a typical morning at our house:
I’m a single mom, go to school parttime and work parttime. Our mornings are very peaceful
I set the alarm “just incase” but she usually wakes me up bright and early and I shut it off before it goes off. Since it is just the vibration on my cell phone (which is enough to wake me up) she will just snooze through it.
She perks right up and asks either, “peeta-butta” (peanut butter?) or “pawk” (park) to which I scoop her up, smooch her all over and then head into the living room — she follows. Somedays I’m too tired so she says, “Mommy up” and proceeds to try to lift me up (she’s a 30lb 2-year old) — I finally get up and go flop onto the couch.
I start to make breakfast and our lunches while she pushes one of the massive kitchen table chairs over to the counter and comes to “help”. To get dressed I toss her clothes on the living room floor, I get dressed, do my hair, brush my teeth. By the time I go to help her, she’s already in her clothes — then I put her diaper on, you know, just incase she pees.
By that time I look at the clock and realize I need to get my butt out the door. I say, “oh no!! we have to go in 5 minutes!!” She loves this part, she jumps into action, grabs her shoes, giggles, runs around the house and then I open the door and she pitter patters down the path to the car. She’s opens the door, hops into her car seat, says, “no me do it” and clips herself in.
I tighten the straps and then we head to either a relatives or to the nice lady’s house where she gets to play with other kids 3 days per week. I spend too much time chatting with her and playing with the kids. I finally get to school and I’m between 45mins – 2 hours late
It’s OK, I still manage to get top marks. I’m starting a new job though, so my plan is to have an earlier bedtime so I can get up earlier. I doubt my job will allow me to be late 
oh that’s so sweet, what a nice way to start the day. I hope the work-thing works out!
Hi Lisa,
Loved your article on vaccination. Wondering if you’d be interested in writing something about Herd Immunity?
I’m sick and tired of people regurgitating the herd immunity excuse for a reason to vaccinate. Anyone choosing to do so, should be obligated to at least understand why they do it, and some very basic vaccination research clearly shows that despite a hundred years of vaccinating herd immunity has never and can never be achieved.
There are numerous incidents when vaccinations don’t work in spite of high coverage. Anyone doubting this only needs to spend a few minutes on the CDC web site. Polio outbreak in Nigeria is one instance. (Whilst they initially blamed the outbreak on low coverage rates of course, they have since resumed the vaccination programme and it has still been unsuccessful. Now they claim that the strain that first appeared in neighbouring countries but apparently originated in Nigeria (??), has now mutated, but that just further proves that herd immunity would have been impossible if the vaccine they’re using is ineffective). The whooping cough epidemic in the Netherlands is another. In spite of high coverage rates, they have had a Pertusis outbreak since the late 1980’s. It really makes no difference what the excuse is – it still means high coverage does not and cannot be guaranteed to afford herd immunity.
Governments and manufacturers love it because they don’t have to work hard while other people and parents push vaccinations for them using the herd immunity excuse.
There will always be people who are contraindicated and there will always be people for who the vaccination simply doesn’t work. Vaccinations will always be subject to human error.ie: children in Ireland in the 70’s got an animal vaccine by mistake.
In light of that, common sense dictates that herd immunity is an unachievable fallacy, that is only used by some to bully other’s into it.
How dare people try to dump the responsibility of a vaccines efficiency onto my child. If they believe that the vaccination works then my unvaccinated child is no threat to theirs and if they admit that sometimes they don’t work, they need to be taking THAT up with the manufacturers, NOT with my kid.
Is that even legal, to expect my child to be responsible for someone else’s health? He’s not a doctor or a medical professional.
My child doesn’t make one iota of difference to any other medical choice a person make for their child’s health, and like it or not, their child doesn’t even enter the equation when I’m making medical decisions for mine.
For years mothers who don’t vaccinate have been harassed and accused of being parasites for not doing it. That has to stop, and pro-vaccinators need to start owning their own shit!
I loved the way you wrote your last article -you said exactly what I thought, but you said it way cooler. Wondered if you’d be able to write something to encourage non-vaccinating people and parents to refuse and reject the herd immunity guilt trip!
Hope your having a great weekend,
Thanks
Kerrie