No Boys Allowed

My day starts really early - 4:30 am to be exact. With four children, three of them with significant special needs, there is always a lot to get accomplished each day. And, the only way I can do that is to get up early, stay up late, and drink a lot of caffeine. So, if I ever get a few quiet moments, I treasure them. One of those treasured times is having breakfast with my sweet daughter, Ashley.

Ashley is very calm in the mornings. Maybe it is because she is still a little bit sleepy - I would be if I had been up partying half the night. Maybe it is because her ADHD meds are working really well, or maybe she just likes quiet mornings as much as I do. After I am up and ready for the day, I prepare all Ashley's meds. I then slowly wake her, administer her meds through her G-tube, and then help her get dressed. As she explores her toys or books and watches the Disney Channel, I get our breakfast ready. When we sit down together to eat, I don't have to work on her feeding issues, behavior issues, or school work - we just enjoy the time together and have a leisurely breakfast, making this one of my favorite times of the day. Because of that, I really get cranky if one of my boys decides to get up early and interrupt this morning routine.

Boys can't be quiet in the morning. They make lots of noise both opening and closing the cabinets. Their cereal bowl clanks into their plate. They slam the toaster controls into place, and the silverware rattles as they pull a spoon and a knife out. Then the real noise starts when they sit at the same peaceful table oasis where Ashley and I are sitting.

Boys slurp their cereal, gulp their juice, and crunch their barely toasted toast. Nothing about their meal is quiet and peaceful. The TV, of course, must be on to show all the latest scores, and comments must be made regarding those scores. They have to yell at the cat for cleaning out the last bit of yogurt from the container that I put on the counter for that specific purpose. They have to use their feet under the table to roughhouse with the dog until the dog starts barking playfully. And then when they are finished breakfast, they run the water like a powerplant to rinse their dishes. I guess I should be grateful they are at least rinsing their dishes. But couldn't they be just a tad bit quieter?

In my house, mornings are made for introverts but my boys are extra-extroverts. And even though Ashley will become just like them later in the day, at least in the early morning, she is a quiet, pensive introvert like her mother....