I love to wake up before anyone in my house, make coffee, and listen the world slowly come alive…but I’ll be honest. My husband usually greets me with hot coffee and a gentle reminder that the alarm went off twenty minutes ago. In those few mornings I’ve successfully risen before the rest, I’ve noticed some things.
It’s still dark when I take out the dog. Parched leaves crunch under my slippers, slightly dampening the echoes of coyotes, and cobwebs catch my nose. Perry Boy barks at curious deer, and then the house is roused and ready for pumpkin muffins. Fall is here, or at least making the effort and my autumn decor finally appropriate.
Minutes of stillness and silence are a stolen treasure for any mother of young ones. It’s one of the reasons I’ve clung so tightly to naptime. That post-lunch hour is one of the sweetest moments of my day, but not necessarily because the boys are sleeping. It’s the pre-nap routine that I love. My boys and I settle in “the big bed” with books, prayers, and snacks. Currently, our favorite stories are the silly There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves by Lucille Colandro and the beautifully illustrated Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle. Tiny snores and heavy heads on folded hands make all the cracker crumbs in the bed worth the extra laundry…which I’ll catch up on as they rest and ready for Round 2 of the day.
There’s a newly released picture book celebrating the season by Kentucky author, Jean Matthew Hall. God’s Blessings of Fall is sure to thrill children with its sights, sounds, and smells. I’m sure this story and some sort of lip-smacking pumpkin or apple goodies will make their way into our reading rotation and the big bed. All sounds wonderful to me.
