I
am not an early bird. But I get up early and make a pot of coffee. And not any
pot—a pot of freshly ground French roasted beans in a stainless steel Bodum
French press. And as wonderful as that is, I wouldn’t get up early just to make
it for myself. I get up to make it for my kids—would you want to go to Biochem without
a cup of coffee to warm your body and soul?
My
husband says that I should let them make their own coffee. I probably should.
But I love watching the sun rise and being greeted by my son’s hamster, who spends
the night in the dining room because he’s so noisy. When I turn on the dining
room light, Rumplestiltskin leaves his wheel and runs to the cage door to greet
me. After I say “Good Morning,” he goes back to his wheel.
And
I love reading blogs while I eat my toast with cheese, watching various family
members stumble out of bed to their cups of coffee. Sometimes they give me the “you-are-a-blessed-saint”
look and sometimes I get the “you-are-a-crazed-earlybird” look. But I’m
thankful to have them around. I know a lot of kids go off to college and that’s
a wonderful opportunity. But we also know lots of people saddled with undergrad
and grad school debt, who make life choices based on their debt. Scholarships
and living at home during their undergrad years should free our kids of that
burden, especially since there’s a major university a couple of miles from our
home.
Of
course, it does make our house crowded, noisy, and opinionated to have four
adults and two near adults living in one home. But I get to be a part of their
lives for a while longer and hear about their professors and classes and learn
about physical chemistry and partial differential equations. And in the
meantime, if I have to get up early and watch the sunrise for time alone and
quiet, I think I can manage that.
Time
for a second cup of coffee.
My sister and I both lived at home during our undergrad years (one of the benefits to living within ten miles of four good universities). And yeah, trying to merge work and school schedules between four adults (three of whom are firstborns, leaving me as the lone easy-going youngest child), only one bathroom, and my sister and me still sharing a bedroom seems crazy to a lot of people, and was crazy at times -
ReplyDeleteBut it also drew us all closer together, and it was a lot of fun most of the time. So I definitely think it is worth it, if possible!
I found this post very helpful which I found on yahoo.Thank you for sharing this information.
ReplyDeleteConnie, this would be my dream come true! We live two and half hours from the nearest university and are just now seeing our oldest out of his last year of high school. The hunt for scholarships is overwhelming and scary.
ReplyDeleteI tell our kids, all three, they can come back anytime after college, as long as they're willing to keep up with their responsibilities around here. My husband gives me a strange look when he hears this. Not sure why. *wink*
I've always loved being the first one up so I can appreciate the early morning by myself. (My family always thought I was nuts, too.) As for your kids living at home during college, I think that's awesome. The luxury of graduating without a back-breaking burden of debt is worth every moment of chaos you may experience now
ReplyDeleteI love this glimpse into your daily life. I went away for college, but I had a cool roommate who was an early bird. She'd always make extra coffee so that I'd have some. I loved waking up to the smell of it. :)
ReplyDeleteAww, how awesome! You are a fabulous mother and your children sound so blessed to have you.
ReplyDeleteI am not an early bird and I need the second cup of coffee sometimes just because I'm up late writing/editing. ;)
Often times, it's just nice to come home from school to recieve that dose of insanity that only your family can give you.
ReplyDelete(..Oh, and the early bird catches the worm!!) :D
I firmly believe that a French press is the glue that holds many a morning together :) Bless you for pressing every morning for your family!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a wonderful way to start the morning.
ReplyDeleteI had the best of both. I spent most of my university years in residences and in rented appartments, but in the last year my family moved closer, so I could study from home.
:-)