Thursday, January 15, 2009

Not A Morning Person

I hate getting up in the morning. I much prefer the slow, gradual wake up, with periods of dozing and stretching and just generally taking my time getting adjusted to the fact that I have to get out of the warm, comfy bed and face the day.

Sadly, my children are not of this mindset, try though I might.

The Bug wakes up very early every morning. 6 a.m. is sleeping in for her. Most mornings, she wants to get up, go downstairs and "have beffast, mama, time for beffast." Bleary-eyed, I follow her toddling little steps down the stairs and get her some beffast.

But some mornings, like this one, I manage to convince her to climb into bed with me. If it's still dark out and she doesn't hear That Canadian Boy I Married rummaging around, she can be convinced to lay in bed with me, snuggling.

So this morning we snuggled. She fitted herself into the crook of my arm but she was soon wiggling and rustling around and finally told me that she wanted to lie on my tummy. She does this sometimes - lays herself out on top of me, one arm crooked so she can suck her thumb, the other twirling her hair. She fits her head under my chin, snooks herself into place and we doze, me loving the feel of the weight of her across my body, rubbing her back, and murmuring soft reassurances.

Finally she was done. Usually she whips the covers off and clambers out of bed but this morning was different. This morning she lifted her head, and even in my dozy state, I felt her moving, felt her head come up. I opened my eyes and she was smiling at me and very softly, she reached up and patted my cheeks and said "Goo' mornin', mama. You want to get up now?" And then she gave me a little kiss, patted my face again and slid away and off the bed.

I know these days are fleeting, that soon she won't want to snuggle, won't want mama's arms around her, won't need to have me near her all the time. And part of me looks forward to that. But part of me will miss this, miss these hugs and kisses and pats on the face.

As much as I complain about how difficult it is to parent two toddlers, this, these moments, are what make it all worthwhile.

11 comments:

Heidi said...

Melts my heart! Adorable!

kittenpie said...

So sweet. hagn onto that. Pumpkinpie has started to decline any kisses some nights because they are "yuck." Urk!

LauraJ said...

there's a perfect balance between our children and us most of the time. you're not a morning person, she is. this way you get to enjoy her love of the morning while you can doze and snooze them away. she's a doll.

Unknown said...

What a sweetie! LOVE moments like that!

Anonymous said...

Having kids five years apart, I'm all too aware of how quickly they grow up and become independent. This makes me treasure my son's snuggly, lovey "lay down with me for just one minute, Mama" ways all the more.

Rich said...

My 2 year old nephew woke me at 6:30 am. He decided to turn the surround sound on and then the playstation. It was loud as hell.

Anonymous said...

It'll disappear for a while, and then, it'll return out of nowhere. My 17 year old - all 6'2", 240 lbs of him will give me a hug and I melt.

T- said...

That's too stinkin' cute for words!

Green-Eyed Momster said...

I got all teary eyed because mine are all past the snuggling stage. I hope she makes it a habit to snuggle with you every day before she starts driving your car.....
I need a tissue!!

Hugs!!

Patois42 said...

Oh, what precious memories you bring to mind. That sounds so perfect.

Beth said...

Awwww. I miss those snuggly days, too. My daughter is at that age where she would rather put an eye out with a fork than admit that she ever did anything like that. My son is *just* getting to the stage where he is too old to hold my hand (sniff) and it makes me feel nostalgic for those cuddly little warm bodies. However, it is nice to have kids big enough to get themselves a bowl of cereal when they wake up hungry at the crack of dawn. Or, in my daughter's case, the crack of noon.