The Early Bird

It seems so long ago, I rose at 5am to leave at 6am on Sunday mornings. College days, to prepare you for life. Who needs sleep, when bus kids are going hungry, without anyone to care for them. You did whatever it took, to help the bus kids.

Fast forward 10 years.

To bed at midnight. Why? The baby is teething, finally after Tylenol, Ora-gel, homeopathic teething tablets, singing, rocking, and nursing AGAIN, she is asleep. 1:30am, Nathan rolls off of his bed, up again. (Was I ever really asleep?) Back to bed, but wide awake now...it's nearing 2am. Doze off for an hour or so...up to use the bathroom, check on kids blankets...back to bed at 3:30am. Up at 4:30 to nurse the baby. 5am, the baby is wide awake and slapping me in the face...the sun is up, she thinks it is play time. Baby drifts off to sleep around 6am. I feel like I have not even slept? Do I get up now while the house is quiet, to have my devotions, only to fall asleep? Or do I sleep for one more hour? I opt to sleep just one more hour, I can read my Bible when I wake up. Just a short while later, I feel someone patting my arm, "Momma, I peed the bed." Up again to run bath water and make coffee.

Am I supposed to function at this critical level of slumber deficiency? Barely. And what of my spirit and disposition? I'm a zombie on a caffeine high for at least 2 hours. How do I put up with my husbands jokes about my morning coffee? It's easy, I don't have the energy to clobber him.

They say the early bird gets the worm. As far as I'm concerned, he can have it, I don't even like worms!