Why would I be reflecting on this at 8:00 am on a beautiful bright and sunny morning? Why, because this beautiful morning is exactly the reason! The sun beating into the windows so early has only one purpose. It wakes up the baby. I could be happily sleeping right now. Four of the kids are over at Grandmas house enjoying a camp out in the yard and all I have is the baby at home. It would be a great day to sleep in and get caught up on some rest, but no, the sun shines in the window and she is up at 6:30 and I have instead spent over an hour trying to convince her to go back to sleep.
I have never been a morning person. I prefer to spend my time up with the stars. Probably more so now that I am a mom. The peace and quiet that comes over the house once all the little ones are asleep becomes my time. It's quiet enough to hear the TV. It's calm enough to read a book. No new messes are being made. If I didn't enjoy this time of night so much I might actually go to bed some night before midnight instead of so often later. If I didn't enjoy it so much, waking up early in the morning wouldn't be such an issue but I like to stay up late and I like to sleep in.
Normally this isn't a problem. She often wakes up before I am ready to get up. She sleeps in the bed with us and is a nurser so I would normally just roll over, feed her and that would buy me an extra hour or two in dreamland and I am happy. Except this last week I have been weaning her. Her night time feedings had crossed the line between feeding out of necessity and just sucking because it offered her comfort. Most of the time I can happily sleep while she nurses but it doesn't make for the most comfortable sleeping position. So rather than being used for her human soother, I have opted that it is time for the little one to be weaned.
I have watched enough Supernanny and Nanny 911 to remember that the easiest, fastest way to wean a kid off something is going Stone Cold Turkey. One day it's there - the next, it isn't an option anymore. This might take less time, and it is the way I have weaned the kids before but it does account for the extra tiredness I am feeling this week. Cammie doesn't seem to realize that it's the best way and that she isn't supposed to be waking up wanting to nurse or sleeping so restlessly while she is doing without. Last night was considerably better, but I am still suffering from a lack of sleep and her waking up this morning wasn't very welcome.
So go away beautiful sun. You do not need to rise at 6:00 to make me like you. I love you sun. Come out at 9:00 in the morning and you would have an even bigger fan. I do not like the tin foil covered window look that I have used in the past to keep my babies sleeping soundly in the morning and block out your intrusion. I do not have the heavy drapes the hotels use to keep you out while still insisting that check out is 11:00am and you can't sleep in anyway. What I have is a little window over the back door that allows your entrance into my house and shine right into my babies face. Don't you realize it is summer vacation and the best time of the year we can sleep in? Go away. Come back in a couple of hours.
In a couple of hours I will be well rested and ready to spend the days basking in your rays. We are on the final countdown to the beginning of school. 5 days until we are back to the early morning rush of trying to get three little ones out the door with matching socks, homeworks, lunchkits, and clothes that preferably match. 5 days. 3 of which are going to be work and travel days. Of the last remaining two days, one will be nice, the other only so so. So we have today to go out and embrace the sunshine and the warmth of summer one last time before it is officially fall and the responsibilities of real life once again intrude.
It won't be the last lake day before the snow flies, but it will be the last summer day. Every boat day in September will start to have the crispness to the air, the chill to the water, the view of the leave changing color and the heavily foreboding that the winter is not far from settling in. We may come out some days after the bus drops the kids off for a couple shorter days of sunshine. I am sure there will be a couple of weekends where work will not intrude and we can head to the lake. We will probably go equipped with the fishing rods to hope the fish will bite better than they did in the summer heat. They will be fun. They will create the memories and family time we want our kids to grow up having but they will not be the summer.
Even while I sit here and wish the sun was not up and beautifully shining in the window while Cammie plays her "make a mess" game I am loving every moment of it's heat on my back. We will be going and picking up the kids for a picnic and beach day. We will take the boat out on the lake. We will make a fire and cook smores and hot dogs. We will play in the sun with frisbee and football. We will eat to much. We will pick saskatoons and raspberries on nature walks. We will watch the kids learn their new tricks on the playparks. We will tube. We will swim. We will laugh. We will embrace the sun for what could be the last day beautiful day before school starts. Even though I am tired, some days are too precious to sleep in.
