6:15 am

4:45 am

Arnauld rolls over and asks, “Is it snowing? Have any schools closed yet?”

“I’m not sure,” I reply. “I am sleeping.”

5:00

Waiting for some sort of announcement about what is going on with schools. Sneaking in a little Slice of Life reading. Just one more, I tell myself a few posts in.

5:15

Wren has an early dismissal. Texts fly as we try to figure out how to get her home. Making tentative plans. Weighing options.

5:30

I also have an early dismissal. Now I really have to get ready. Lunches packed. A quick stop in the bathroom to wash the sleep from my face. Coffee. Unload the dishwasher. Let the dogs in and out. Finalize plans for pickups for the day. I write Wren’s teacher a note and shove it in her folder.

5:50

I call up the stairs, “Wren and Adi! Time to get up. Come down when you’re ready. Shoes and coats. Hurry please!”

6:00

Run to my closet and throw something on. Pulling a sweater over my head I meet Wren and Adi in the kitchen. They’re huddled in their favorite spot, under a little table near the heat vent. I give them each a quick hug, half pushing them towards the entryway. “Shoes and coats! Please!”

As the girls take their sweet time deciding on what shoes to wear, I fill Wren in on the pickup arrangements. She’s nervous about being a pick up in the car loop for the first time. She doesn’t understand why this early dismissal is any different that the ones they have about every other Friday. I reassure her that someone will help her figure out where to go.

I decide to add onto the note to Wren’s teacher, just to let her know that Wren is a little nervous… as if that won’t probably be the first thing out of Wren’s mouth when she enters the classroom.

6:10

The girls finally have their coats on, along with their boots. Who knows what weather conditions we will be coming home in. I shoo the girls to the garage to get in the car. “No fighting today. Just get your buckles on!”

6:15

I climb the stairs to wake my sleeping baby. “Rosie,” I call halfway up. I turn on the bathroom light outside her room to shine some light. I peek in at her. Still snuggled on her belly, her favorite sleeping position. She lifts her head slightly to meet my eyes before resting her head down again. I rub her back before lifting her warm body and pulling her in close. Rose snuggles right in, resting her head on my shoulder. Left hand holding onto my shoulder and right hand resting on my cheek…just like every morning. I stand in her almost dark bedroom soaking in the half second of silence and sweet baby warmth. One more second before reality reminds me that it is time to go.