There seems to be an unwritten guideline as to the times everyone in a household rises from slumber in the mornings. It’s amazing that the people in families get into the swing of things at different times each regular day. Oh there are days that are not regular. The day the family is going on vacation everyone is front and center. Everyone heading out for some family activity usually around some school or maybe church activity? Those times every last person arrives, well hopefully every last person, comes ready to take an assigned seat in the car and go off to dance the dance of family and friends. Mornings however are inherently of themselves a monster of a different color.
In my growing up home our dad was up and at it first. Making coffee and clearing his throat so loud as to wake the dead. Which just happened to be his three children and wife. It was not ever a “Father Knows Best” household I grew up in. Breakfast was not laid out in sparkling morning sunshine with everything from eggs to freshly squeezed orange juice. Just up and out was the way of my family. We of course made up for it with chips and soda after school while watching Gilligan’s Island. It was the way we were raised. Until we grew enough to not let that throat clearing, signal to us to get up and get going.
Soon enough the family changes, everyone grows up a little and a distinct pecking order of getting up is developed. I like to listen to the stories of daily household lives of people I know. Today I needed to go to a town some 90 miles away to pick up some cats that I was having, well you know its spring and all! I am being a good responsible pet owner. Anyway I was going to stop in and drop off some things to a friend on my way through town. I texted to see if she would be home and awake at 8 a.m. I did my pickup at the vet and no response from my friend by 9 a. m. I gathered up my herd of 5 kitties, grabbed a breakfast thing at a drive through and headed home. About half way home I got a reply to my earlier text. So as a good little driver, I pulled over and answered her, “Where are you?” text. Well seems in her household she is the later riser of her and her other half. But! Yes a sleeping in “but.” She did give me HIS phone number if I ever came in early again. See he is the early bird in their home and she—well she is not. They definitely have their pecking order in order.
As time has its way of unpredictability even the order of spouses rise and shine times change. That can be a bit weird at first. For the first several years I was the late owl because my farmer husband was up at the eye opening crack of dawn. Of course when newly married I was up early with him. That did not last long as I was also up into the wee hours of. I was going to say wee hours of the night when in actually it was the wee hours of around 11 p.m. I remember many nights when I would hit the hay, he was fast asleep and weirdly enough the clock showed it was 11:11 p.m. Funny that now when I see that 11:11 I smile to myself, remembering. Let’s clock in and move on.
It wasn’t but a few years when the getting up and going to bed times changed. I began to get up earlier when I found out how quiet it was in the early mornings and how pretty things were. I even began to get up early in the winters when there was new snow to shovel. I like making the first footprints in the snow. The shoveling in the cold crisp was invigorating. Besides it drove my other half a bit nuts because if it wasn’t too cold I was out in my slippers shoveling the back deck. I have no neighbors you know. Soon enough I would see the back door open and a puff of his warm breath come floating out. He would stick his head out and ask if I was crazy. Maybe a little.
Wow. You don’t thing that time change could signal the beginning of “THE CHANGE” women go through. Nah. I don’t remember shoveling because I was too hot! But, hey, it could happen.
Trina lives in Eureka, Nevada. Her funny books are available wherever you buy books or email her at itybytrina@yahoo.com to buy signed copies. Really!
