However, my Not-At-All-Routine morning today highlights the point I want to make with my this week’s article, and that is to “Keep Your Mornings as Simple As Possible!”
Here’s how:
First Things First, Focus on Survival.
Food, clothing, shelter, safety. Make sure all of these are taking care of, before moving on to anything else. Feed your self and your people. Get clean, get clothed and get ready for school. Our days are starting even earlier this school year, so Focus is essential. I am still waiting to see how the middle school schedule pans out, but I believe my youngest will be starting by 7:30 am at least 2 days a week. So, to help me focus, my goal is to avoid computer / facebook / email before everyone’s out of the house. 5:30 – 7:30 am will be about getting everyone up, off to school or work, and home maintenance. After that, I can look at other things.
Limit Options. Decision making slows us down.
My teenagers and I had a conversation over the weekend that went something like this:
Me: “You have to eat breakfast before school this year. I know you don’t always manage a healthy lunch, so you’ve got to ace breakfast. What will you eat every day?”
Them: to paraphrase….”toaster waffles, we like toaster waffles. And costco pre-cooked bacon. We like that, too.”
Me: “So, if I keep toaster waffles and bacon on hand, you will eat breakfast in the morning?”
Them: “Yes.”
Cool. We have a deal.
I will not try to fill every possibility as I may have in the past – 5 kinds of cereal, a couple of flavors of granola bars, blah, blah, blah, and they still didn’t eat. Nope. Waffles and bacon. Done.
Limiting clothing options makes decision making easier, too. If you have indecisive or spontaneous little people, together (or not!) choose 7 outfits at the beginning of the week. Put the whole ensemble on a hanger or rolled up on the dresser. And pull from just those options for school days. Too many options kill decision making.
For example, a loved one mentioned how my favorite 2.5 year-old likes to pick out her own clothes these days. I remember that when my sons were young! And I cleared the drawers of everything I didn’t want them to wear, leaving them fewer but higher quality choices!
What does your Face look like?
There was a moment a few weeks ago, mid-tirade, when my brain stopped and said “I wonder what my face looks like right now?” Since I was raving at my kids, I’m sure I was red, scowling, possibly petulant… certainly not the person I want to be, or who I want my kids to see when they look at me.
When you are running around in the morning, what does your face look like? Take time for hugs and tickles, a few deep breaths, maybe some great music and kitchen dancing, you name it. Happy is contagious.
Leave Early.
Early is on time, and on time is late. We really just never know what will happen on the way to our destination, so it’s always best to leave a little extra time.
Parents, consider that when your child leaves you, they still have 5-10 minutes of getting into school / hanging up coats / unloading backpacks, etc. to contend with, before they’re ready to learn. Your child and teachers want you to err on the Early side of on-time, so everyone feels more in charge and less frazzled.
Trust me, Keep It Simple, Sweetie!