By Sarah Rachel Egelman
It is 6:48 a.m. My husband is trying to be quiet as he gets ready for work, but I cringe at every small sound and know I will not get any more sleep today.
The baby, curled up next to me, is restless, beginning to wake. Next, I hear my daughter crying for me from her room. She wants me to come get her and carry her back to my bed, but I don't want to get up. I yell back that she should come on in, but this only upsets her. I go get her, and she is mad at her father for some reason and starts yelling at him and grumpily settles herself into our bed, demanding a cup of milk. It is now 7 a.m. and I already know this will be an exhausting day.
Another day. It is 7:10 a.m., and I hear her footsteps in the hall. It is a Saturday so my husband is still home and asleep. My daughter climbs into our bed, and I scoot the baby safely over. She nestles down between her father and I and tells us she loves us and had good dreams about golden dragons. The baby wakes at the sound of her voice and starts smiling and cooing. I go to the kitchen and get her a cup of milk and crawl back into bed with my family. We are snuggly and sleepy and we will have a busy day.
Days later. It is 7:19 a.m. and I cannot believe that she choose this day, the first day of preschool, to sleep late.
I get up to brush my teeth and get dressed and it wakes her. She is mad I am not waiting for her in my room so I get back into bed with her and she calms down. She tells me she doesn't want to start school but then is distracted by a "cuddle party" with her little sister who is finally awake, too. She eventually picks out her favorite clothes and fills her purse with treasures and we head to school. I have promised her we will bake cookies when she comes home.
At the school, she holds my hand for a moment, shy of her teacher and the classroom. But before I know it she has joined a group of girls to hear a story and I say goodbye. The baby and I head out into the 9 a.m. sun.
The day is getting hot already, but there is a nice breeze. We drive to the store for baking ingredients. I picture her in her classroom, cautious but curious, brave and interested and I know this will be a wonderful day.
Sarah Rachel Egelman is a community college instructor and freelance book reviewer who lives in New Mexico with her family.
Goodness. I so identified with this post! On weekends, my 4-year-old jumps out of bed and on schooldays, he can sleep and sleep. ARGH.
Posted by: hsienlei | June 28, 2007 at 08:59 AM