I picked up that game the other night as I wandered around a mall in Santa Monica with Oliver. It was raining lightly outside, and we were waiting for Henry's lacrosse game to start at the ridiculous Saturday night hour of 8:00 pm. We haven't played the card game, yet, but I thought about it when I left our house this morning, mid-getting-ready-for-school festivities. The word festivities is a euphemism for the grinding hell that is mornings of late, and this morning I took a different tack by eschewing getting involved in the sibling bickering, the haranguing on getting out of bed, eating breakfast and who is supposed to feed the dog, as well as the hysteria over whether or not to dress in costume for upcoming Spirit Week.
I am a morning person stuck in this life with a houseful of non-morning types, and they're bringing me
d
o
w
n.
Because I know that only I can change or, rather, respond to external stuff as opposed to reacting to it, I decided to cheerfully absent myself from the festivities. I put on my walking clothes and grabbed my walking stick (just kidding on the stick) and said, as I walked out the door, I'm going for a walk! Have a good day, guys!
When I turned my face up to the sun and the crisp, after-rain air, my coffee cup in hand, I could almost hear the mouths drop inside into lunchboxes that were not yet filled, a stunned silence that probably morphed into incredulity that one person, at least, was throwing in her hand and not playing any more Awful People Edition.
Good morning!
Top o' the morning to you!
ReplyDeleteParenting in the absence - love it.
The old saying, "include me out" of the Awful People Edition - how satisfying, how alarmingly satisfying. I've just hopped over from listening to a meditation sung by Singh Kaur, forwarded by my sister-in-law. The tank is a bit more full. xo
ReplyDeleteLove this! Amazing isn't it, when you just refuse to participate in the madness? I love you for being able to not only do this, but to realize that yes, in fact, you can.
ReplyDeleteMust be something in the air because my husband woke up in a foul mood this morning and is walking around all miserable and surly. Normal me would engage, try to fix and get in a bad mood myself. Not this morning. I am going to Costco! :-)
ReplyDeleteYou should invest in a shillelagh for walks and inspired moments!
ReplyDeleteI have a notion that the "festivities" stopped as soon as you weren't there to bear witness. Good for you! Take back the morning!!!
ReplyDeleteYes! Cheers. My younger brothers and sisters were raised with packed lunches and morning coddling while my sister and i had to get up on our own and get ourselves and everything we needed to the bus (my mom worked back then). When my little brother was 17, one day he asked me, "Alli, how do you make tea?"...
ReplyDeleteWhat i mean to say is, i'm very glad to have been raised in a more self-sufficient fashion.
Awesome. Really awesome.
ReplyDeleteHope the walk and the rest of the day, is a good one my friend.
good for you! take yourself out of the equation. brilliant. I hope this is the beginning of a new morning ritual -- it will benefit all involved, trust me.
ReplyDeleteThat is awesome! I will live vicariously through you until I can maybe one day make a stand. My kids are still a bit too young for me to do this but I sometimes wish I could!
ReplyDeleteDo it again tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteGood for you! Absenting yourself hopefully served as a good reminder that you should not be taken for granted.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love this. I'm experimenting with the idea of "doing whatever the fuck I want" in parenting, and I'm hoping it's going to look something like this.
ReplyDeleteI'm a morning person in a night owl family too - and the early morning walk really baffles them all - but boy is it ever nice to get out and breathe!
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