Full confession: I am NOT a morning person. I never have been. Life has forced me to be up early. Emmaline was born and the child was a great sleeper.....but she was up at about 4 a.m. Every. Damn. Day. Lord help me, I was not prepared for that nonsense. 😂 More kids came and I homeschooled and mornings were still not my thing. I tried. Who are we kidding? I begged my children to stay in bed. I was possibly in tears doing so. I am a night owl and my nature is just that. Needless to say, it never worked. I put the kids in public school. I drove them to school those first couple of years and yes, I was in my pajamas. Do you know what time school starts? Too early, that's when.
So when I got my big girl job, the idea of getting kids up and to school and myself to work by eight was daunting. And the very thought exhausted me. Soon enough we fell into a routine and I adjusted. As much as someone who does not care for being up before the sun could.
Y'all.....it did not take long before, even though I am not a morning person, I did not mind being up early. Do you know why? Let me tell you in a few hundred words. Because you know I won't do it in any less than that.
I. Love. Walking. Into. Work. Each. Day. No lie. I could have had the worst morning, for any number of reasons, and the instant I hit the hallway, my mood changes. I feel lighter. I smile. Because I love what I do and who I get to do it with.
Let me tell you about my job. I get to love kids and their families. That is really the jist of it. It is not glamorous. It is not easy. It is not necessarily high paying. But the rewards.....parents hand me their precious babies. And they trust me with their most valuable creation. I do not take this responsibility lightly. I haven't since the day I set foot in CCVI. I know how hard it is to hand your baby over to a stranger. How could anyone love your child as much as you do?
Y'all, I love those babies as if they were my own. No lie. Each triumph, each heartbreak, I feel it. I do not know if this is going to make me a better teacher or not. What I do know is that I hope I never lose that ability. The ability to feel like that. The ability to at least attempt to soothe a parents aching heart (whether or not I am successful, I do not know, but I give it a damn good try). I get the honor and privilege of being a tiny part of these kids lives. Another thing I do not take lightly. Each moment spent snuggling one of those babies, I breath it in. And I snuggle the babies too much, you can ask Ms. Gayla. 😏 And each of those kids changes me. They make me a better person. They teach me far more than I ever teach them. And I get to get up and do it every day.
So, I may still not be a morning person. But I know soon enough there will be a little person, running though those doors, hollering for Ms. Abby with open arms. And if you aren't all smiles all day from that? Then I do not know what to tell you. Because there is nothing more beautiful or more amazing than that.
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