I told her, "In my experience, there are clearly two types of people in this world. Those who wake up in the morning, get all their jobs done, and then relax until they need to leave ... and those who wake up in the morning, relax a bit, and then race to get all their jobs done before they have to run out the door."
"Good Morning, Good Morning, to You..."
You can probably guess that I am in the first category. As Sutton Foster likes to sing -- and now Emma serenades me with, too -- "I've always been a morning person." For those, who like the classics, you can enjoy Gene Kelly, Deb Reynolds and Donald O'Connor here.I have always been someone who likes to get the unpleasant stuff out of the way first and then get my reward. I eat all my corn first, so I can enjoy that delicious steak and butter-soaked baked potato as the last prize on my taste buds. I'd rather unpack the car, the bags, etc., before I crash on the couch. Exercise before I eat the Dunkin Donuts Boston Kreme.
A delayed reward brings greater satisfaction in my mind. You get all those other nuisances out of the way and enjoy yourself with a clear conscience.
That is my thinking, but I know it's not universal -- as evidenced by our morning family routine.
Up and At 'Em
On a weekday morning, I will get out of bed after one hit on the snooze. I hit the shower, get dressed and do the first round of wake-up calls upstairs. Then I feed the dog, let her out, start the breakfast prep for the kids, clear out the dishwasher, go back upstairs for the second round of wake-ups -- and then I am done.I could throw on my coat, jump in the car and head to the office in the next second. So, now, I get my reward. I can take a deep breath, watch Tom & Jerry with the kids, and read the newspapers on my iPad.
This drives my wife crazy. Don't you think?
She gets up about a half hour later than me. She checks her email in bed, makes sure everyone's clothes are laid out and brings our son Will downstairs for breakfast. She makes the kids lunches and checks that their backpacks are loaded. Class notes and instructions (Bus rider ... car rider ... dance class ... volleyball, blah, blah, blah) are conveyed to our sleepy-eyed crew who stumble downstairs in various states of grumpiness. Somewhere in between all this, Elena goes back upstairs to gets herself dressed for work, settle any bathroom wars between Emma and Tess, and comes back down to eat her own breakfast.
Training The Kids
My son Will is being trained to understand his dad's wisdom. He finishes his breakfast, brushes his teeth, gets dressed and tries to spend some time on the XBox without anyone bothering him. Tess generally gets up, dressed and stays locked in her room until I complete a few yells to get in the car (or unless she feels the need to battle with Emma). Emma, meanwhile, lopes downstairs, nice and relaxed and goes quietly through her routine.On weekends, it's a whole different ballgame. Saturday is "live and let live" day. No wake-up calls. No orders. Dad can get up at 7 a.m. and do whatever crazy routine he has -- and Emma snooze until noon. On Sundays, we invoke "Sunday rules." No one can turn on a TV, XBox or iPad until they are up, fed, cleaned, dressed and ready for church (this means socks and shoes on -- see this post on the Sockless Life).
I could argue until I am blue in the face why "my way is better" -- (and my wife might argue you that I don't do half of what I described myself doing on a weekday morning). That is not the point, people. :)
The truth is ... people are wired one way or the other. You're either a bounce out of bed, bring it on, morning person. Or, you're an ease me into my day, what is the rush, person.
It can make for some bumpy mornings when these two worlds collide -- but peaceful coexistence is the basic goal... maybe one day a week. 
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