It's incredibly early in the morning as I write this. The sips of coffee I'm taking in between sentences are like small hits of liquid crack. There is a soft-focus fuzz around everything I see, while my eyes slowly adjust to being uncomfortably half-awake. My body aches. My breath is unspeakable. I am not a morning person.
However, I don't have to be.
I loathe to admit this, ever, in any context, because, by far, the vast majority of experiences specific to being a separated parent are frightening, lonely, painful, or some combination of the three. Occasionally though, there are small positives to this arrangement (that I would gladly trade, in a heartbeat, for more time with a daughter or a more "normal" life as a parent -- but still).
Sleep is one of those things.
Because I skip at least part of every workday to pick up Edan from daycare, I usually make up for it at the witching hour -- uninterrupted by late-night requests for glasses of water, additional stories, songs, and claims that sleep is a physical impossibility imposed upon children by domineering adults. Then I stumble through mornings (like this one), sipping coffee and trying desperately to smack my brain into readiness -- also uninterrupted by early morning sing-a-longs, second bowls of cereal, or morning cartoons.
Continued at ParentDish.
Labels: being busy, ParentDish, separated parenting