Time
My day begins at 4:30 a.m. and doesn’t end until, well, until I decide I feel it is complete. But how it begins every single day when my 13 year old son, Ryan, is with me is ritualistic. I get up, turn up the thermostat, light the fire under my kettle for my coffee, (French press, please) feed the dogs, and wait for the kettle to boil, while I do mundane chores so no moment in time is wasted. I pour about 1 cup of coffee into a small thermos and take it, along with two coffee cups, one filled with sweet cream, into my room. Until 5:30, I spend quiet time alone with my thoughts while drinking my first cup of coffee. At precisely 5:30, I walk into my son’s room, lightly kiss him on the cheek, and tell him, “Time to wake up, Love. Coffee is ready for you.” Side note, the coffee is a new addition for him, and it’s now something special we share. I go back to my bed and pour coffee from the thermos into the cup with cream, while he makes his bed. Moments later, he wanders into my room, and I pass the cup to my sleepy boy. Now beside me, he opens his book, and we read until 7:00, before he heads to his room for his alone time, where he typically repetitively times himself, as he solves his multiple Rubik’s cubes. He’s going for the world record! So that no time is wasted, I listen to something educational or motivational on Audible, while I dress and get ready for the day. By 8:00, I take him to school and begin my workday.
For Ryan’s entire childhood, it’s been our ritual to read every morning and every night before bed. Life is so hectic, and we so often struggle to find quality TIME with our family. I never feel like I’m missing that with Ryan, because of these moments in time. This morning, as the rain poured outside the window at 6:30, Ryan looked at my phone clock and said, “Yay! It’s only 6:30! It feels like It’s later, but we still have more time!” I smiled and just felt grateful that TIME was working in our favor today.