There’s a certain beauty in the morning. A freshness as the day awakes. There’s a quietness that seeps into your soul, bringing hope and anticipation for the new day. The extraordinary beauty that bursts across the sky at sunrise – always different yet breathtakingly glorious – floods your heart and soul with thankful joy at the incredible gift of another day.
But what happens when that thankful waking gets interrupted?
My favorite time of day is morning. However, I don’t wake up quickly. I need to hatch—to slowly “come to” before anyone speaks to me or I to them. While the eyes may be open and I’m standing up, I’m really not awake.
My husband and I had to learn this part of the dance rather quickly the first days of our marriage.
Then we were blessed with children who woke up early.
6:00 a.m. early. Like clockwork. My friends told me their kids would sleep 12 hours from when they were put to bed. So, put them to bed at 8 and they’d sleep until 8 or even 9.
I tried that. My kids were up at 5. And grumpy.
The glorious, quiet mornings were gone.
With children that woke up at my normal hatching time, I quickly learned that to be a pleasant wife and mom I had to get up at least 30 minutes before my children. I needed that time of quiet to start my day. If I would adjust my schedule to get up at 5:30 a.m. instead of 6 a.m., then I was much more pleasant. Period.
That was a tough adjustment. Is there life at 5:30 a.m.? It seemed unbelievably early, even for a morning person, but the reward of this adjustment in my schedule was staggering.
The beauty of each sunrise.
The bird songs that taught my heart to sing in quiet praise.
The moments of shared quiet with my husband.
Enjoying a whole cup of tea uninterrupted.
Morning quiet.
The best part though was that as each child woke up, I could enjoy their morning hugs, their delight at the new day, and even some morning snuggles with the child that woke up needing to hatch. Just like me.
And I discovered an extraordinary truth – every morning is still glorious when you intentionally make adjustments that benefit you and your family.
Are you a morning person? An afternoon person? A night owl? What adjustments have you made to accommodate the needs of your family? I’d love to hear from you. Just leave a comment.
Live your legacy today,
Kirsten D. Samuel
Aftershock Recovery Coach
8-week Program, Custom-paced Coaching, Remote or In-person Sessions
