Mornings

It's summer. Some days I work, other days I take as vacation. Getting out of the house is easy. I'm in charge of getting myself ready, and that's it. My mornings are relaxing in June and July.

This post has been in draft format since April or May. I'm finally sharing it, now, as I've had a little extra time to polish it up.

Show me a house where the above quote (from the Kids Deserve It book) isn't the norm for kids. Show me a house where the above quote isn't the norm for adults.

What follows is a timeline of an especially crazy morning that I experienced, last spring.

4:50am - My alarm sounds. I get out of bed, I get dressed and get ready to leave the house for a #RunBeforeTheSun (shout-out to Gregg Bruno).

5:33am - I return from my run and I am startled by my son. He's sitting in the living room, and he tells me that he doesn't feel good; this is not normal, he doesn't usually miss school. He must not feel well.

5:35am - Unsure what to do, I start to get ready for the day; brainstorming options for what we'll do if my son can't go to school are racing through my head

I convinced my wife (she's a first grade teacher) to do one of the things that I hate the most (as a principal). She puts in for a substitute, and it's after 6am. Good luck getting that covered.

My kind and beautiful wife was going to stay home with our son, but she still has to get her classroom and sub plans ready. So she leaves the house sometime after 6am to do what she needs to get done. But that means that I'm in charge of getting our three-year-old daughter out-of-the-house. Yikes!

7:02am - My daughter and I leave the house. My son is left on the couch waiting for Mom to get back home (it won't be long). Please, don't judge us.

My wife usually takes our daughter to play school (and I am usually responsible for getting my son to school as it is along the route that I take to get to work). My wife also usually gets our daughter ready for the day, and I am tasked with overseeing that our son gets "ready." She is four, he is seven; you can see where my job is a little bit easier in this regard.

On this particular morning, however, it's on me to get Olivia (our daughter) ready. I'm thankful that she went to bed, last night, dressed for the day. I know that M&Ms and chocolate milk are poor choices for breakfast, but it's easier so we do it anyways (again, please don't judge). I'm not even going to try wordsmith the situation that was her hair...

Nonetheless, we made it. I got her to where she needed to go. And I was headed to work.

7:30am - I arrive to school (10-15 minutes later than usual due to the circumstances). As I enter the building, I'm welcomed by the news that we are short subs.

We hit the ground running! There is no norm when you're working with other people, and especially when you are working with kids. Embracing that idea makes coordinating the chaos (shout-out to the self proclaimed Chaos Coordinator, Lindsy Stumpenhorst) seem far less overwhelming.