Easy Mornings

Like any household that has kiddos, ours is sometimes a bit crazy in the mornings. But about two weeks ago, a strange thing happened - my boy started coming downstairs fully dressed, going straight to the bathroom to brush his teeth, and finishing up whatever else he needed to get done without us saying a word. Sometimes he'd be completely ready for school before J and I were even out of bed (both kiddos have alarm clocks that get them up in the mornings, so we typically don't need to go upstairs to wake them up).  It was so easy, I sort of felt like I'd slipped into an alternate universe. When I asked him why he had decided to make that his normal routine, he told me that it was so he'd have more time in the mornings to play. Hmm, guess I know what his motivation is these days...

So we've had it extremely easy in the mornings for the last several weeks. I thought I appreciated how easy it had become until yesterday, when J forwarded me an email he originally sent a year ago, detailing one of "those mornings" that happen every so often. I was out of town that morning, so he was flying solo in getting the kiddos ready for school and dropped off at school.  At that time, they were 3.5 and nearly 5, and things could get a little hairy in the morning when there was only one of us to ride herd. I absolutely cracked up reading it yesterday, so I thought I'd share it in case any of you can relate.

From J's email in December 2009 (keep in mind the goal time to drop off kiddos is 7:30 so J can make it to work on time):

"Got up late.
Tried to let kids sleep in some.
Got the kids dressed.
Couldn't convince the girl NOT to wear her high-topped converse. After struggling to get them on her, she declared they didn't feel good. Changed shoes.
Gave kids pancakes.
Got the boy mad because he declared he wasn't a kiddo, but I insisted that he still was, citing multitudes of examples demonstrating that he was still, indeed, a kiddo.
Got the kids in the car.
Boy griped at me because he had TWO pancakes, and swore he only asked for one. (He asked for two and was taunting the girl in the kitchen about the fact she only had one and he had "lots".) I said "Fine," took his pancakes, ate one, and gave him the remainder.
Got to school.
As the girl got out of the car, I realized that I forgot to put her dress on her. She was wearing navy tights and a navy shirt. 
Oops.
The boy was so slow getting out of the car that the girl started yelling from the stairs. "Why you taking so lo-ong?"
Got kids to classroom.
Took off coats. The girl's stuck to her. Gold glitter silly putty (where the hell did that come from??) stuck all over the inside of her heavy coat (faux fur) to the lower left back of her shirt. Got it off the shirt, but the coat is another story altogether. Gave up on coat, left for work. 7:55AM.

"So I get father of the week honors - sent my 3 year old to school half-dressed and covered in silly putty."

After I reread that email from a year ago, I have a whole new appreciation for how easy our mornings have become.