The Highlight of Their Morning
Having a big family comes with its share of the traditional ups and downs. I mean, having two teenage girls and a baby means that feeling rested is really just a memory. But as I have mentioned before, the big family thing comes with its share of sweet moments. Sweet moments that are really more like a suprise, something I never anticipated.
My two oldest — Jade (14) and Izzy (13) — get up and ready for school on their own. ( I try not to feel too much guilt about not cooking them omlettes every morning – my energy isn’t endless…). Each morning they pile their backpacks and instruments next to our front door and wait for the HONK that signals the carpool is waiting outside. About the time they get their shoes on and switch into “hang out” mode before the carpool arrives, Ty, Emme and I mosey on down from upstairs to start our day.
But when Ty and Emme lay eyes on those two big girls, they go absolutely crazy with joy. If Dora and Anakin and Buzz Lightyear all showed up at once, they wouldn’t get the kind of reception that Ty and Emme greet Jade and Izzy with every morning.
The next 10 minutes is a carinval of love from my two youngest to my two oldest. Still in their jammies, Ty and Emme practically mob Jade and Izzy demanding the last few seconds of their attention before leaving for school. Lego catalogs come out to be delved into, toys materialize, the itsy bitsy spider and twinkle twinkle little star is sung…over and over… oh, and over and over… sometimes it is an imprompu game of hide-and-seek as Ty jumps under a blanket and instructs “come find me.”
Final snuggles are given and plans for their return in the afternoon are made (“If you don’t have a lot of homework, Izzy, will you play Wii with me?”). When the HONK comes Emme and Ty both run out to give one final goodbye to their big girls as they drive off. Ty shouting his BBYYEEE!!!!! and Emme blowing kisses with a MWAH ..MWAH.
It is only after all of this that I can change Emme’s diaper, make breaksfast, and get our morning focused on Kindergarten drop off and baby music class.
But I wouldn’t change it.
Jade will be heading off to college the year Emme enters Kindergarten — only 4 years away. And it is the time they have together now — even those few minutes in the morning, or maybe especially those few minutes in the morning — that will part of their relationship forever. There will be a day when Emme will run out to blow Jade a kiss and she won’t be coming home until Thanksgiving.
So, until then, I will enjoy that the highlight of their morning is with each other.
