Good Morning

Before Aaron arrived, mornings belonged to me. Jada was a sure bet to
be quiet until at least 7, and since I woke up at 5, that gave me at
least two hours to pray, study the Bible, collect my thoughts for the
day, exercise, and get myself ready before I had to put my parenting
smock on.

Jada's still a sure bet to not need disturbing until after 7, but
Aaron is much more of a wild-card. Usually his stomach wakes him up
between 4 and 5, and he doesn't always go back down after getting fed.
So I've had to do without my sanctuary time more often than not.

But today I had a good morning. Aaron slept from 7 to 4, so Amy
didn't have to get him at 1 like she usually does. And when I got him
at 4, he was able to go back down after a bottle - although it took a
solid 20 minutes of burping before I could coax the gas out of him.

So from 4:30 to 6, the house was quiet, allowing me to luxuriate in
prayer, Bible, push-ups, sit-ups, catching up on email, and getting
showered. And when Aaron woke up at 6, he was pleasant enough that I
was able to get in about 45 minutes of work-related reading and
editing while he wormed around on the ground. And when he finally did
make a fuss, we retired to the kitchen for breakfast, and he downed
his food without complaint.

Contrast this to most mornings, during which I usually get anywhere
from one to three hours of crying from him before I head off to work,
which will leave even the most cool-headed person a little frazzled.
Instead, today, I felt peaceful and productive. It was a good morning
- and if I can get myself to bed early enough to be up by 4, and if
Aaron can be as pleasant as he was this morning, maybe it won't be the
last good morning I have.