A recovering "non-morning" person

It's no secret (at least not to anyone who has ever been near me in the mornings) that I'm not a morning person. One of the best things to celebrate about leaving the classroom after 10 years was not having to fake it to a room full of sixth graders anymore! Even my own children know that it's better to ask for favors in the morning AFTER mommy has had at least one cup of coffee.

This morning I was slow to get out of bed and was still postponing getting up after Ian was in the shower. Not so much because I was that tired, it was just my way of protesting that the weekend had passed so quickly and today was not a treasured "Daddy Day" as we like to call the weekend days.

Then I heard the shuffling of little bare feet and I knew that meant the little man was on his way to my bedside (Ky had come in at daybreak and was nestled up beside me). I hid my face under the sheet and tried to pretend that I was still asleep in hopes that he'd either lay down beside me to snuggle for a few minutes or go back to his room to play cars for a while.

But no, it was clear that he was awake, fully charged for the day. I wanted to ignore him when he said, "Hey Momma," but instead I answered, "Hey buddy!"

And then it came, COMPLETELY unsolicited for the very first time.

"Hey Momma, I yuhve yuhew! I yuhve yuhew yots an yots!"

Be still my heart! Top that off with his smile that makes his eyes disappear and a huge hug and I have one thing left to say...

"Hello, my name is Kristi, and I'm a recovering non-morning person..."