Early Morning Memories

 

It's 4:15 in the morning and I've been up for over an hour now. David had an out-of-town trip to do today, and the alarm went off at 3:00 a.m.  I debated going back to bed, but coffee sounded so good and it won out over crawling back under the covers. But as I was contemplating what to do at this early hour of the morning, I remembered some times in the past, when early mornings were routine and I began to reminisce a bit.

There was a time, when my kids were younger, that I would get up at 4:00 a.m. to write. With two young boys, I had to be intentional about how I spent my time, so the early hours were the only time I had, that offered complete quiet. 

I would sit in my office for several hours, writing and working on ideas and projects. I had my first blog back then and I would share my heart there every morning. I looked forward to that quiet time. Eventually the routines changed, as they always do, but I still look back fondly on those early hours and am kind of proud of myself for the discipline it took.

Several other memories have been going through my head this morning - memories of early mornings, when David worked out of town for weeks at a time and I was left with the boys on my own. I'm sure it was hard at the time, but when I look back on it, it doesn't hold hard memories. I think I just did what needed to be done at the time and made the best of it. The boys were young then and I can't imagine the stress of getting them ready for church, co-op, going to the grocery store, and the hardest of all...bed and bath time - all on my own. David would drive home on the weekends and I'm sure that felt like the best reprieve of all time.

Years later, when Ted was around 15 years old and Collin was 9, David was working in Dallas for a few months and Ted was leading worship at a local Christian academy every Wednesday. The catch was, he wasn't driving yet, so every Wednesday I would have to drag Collin out of bed, so we could drive Ted about 30 minutes away for a 7:00 a.m. practice. Uggg. That was tough! 

Those early mornings eventually settled down and we made it through, but even as hard as it was, I'm so glad I can look back on those times with my boys. I would do it again, if they needed me to.

I've always been a morning person, even as a little girl. I would be the first one awake and I would always find my way to the tv and watch cartoons. 

I'm still a morning person (just not a 3:00 a.m. person) and I still love the feel of a quiet morning, hot coffee and time spread out before me, to think, write, pray and just let my mind walk into the day peaceful and ready. I feel like that's a luxury these days.

When I think of how many people have mornings full of hustle and hurry, it makes me sad - for the kids and the parents. I hope they will find a few mornings to sit and enjoy the quiet. 

Well, now it's already 5:00 a.m. I've been up for 2 hours. I will make myself another cup of coffee and I think I'll make some pumpkin bread. It will have the house smelling warm and cozy and be just the thing to top off this quiet morning. 

Then I will continue my day with some reading, talking to the Lord and getting ready. I have a few errands on the schedule for today and some simple chores. 

I need to wrap some Christmas gifts and do some organizing projects. Then...maybe I'll close my eyes for 15 minutes or so, just to give myself that extra bit of energy I'll need to wait for David to get home. 

It's been a nice, quiet morning. Thanks for sharing it with me.

Until Next Time...

Blessings!