Morning Ritual

I wake up at 5:30 on school days, because I need some silent time, some coffee, and some blog reading on the couch in the dining room before I can contemplate waking up other human beings, making lunch or breakfast or tea for them, or even putting clothes on my body and brushing my teeth. I'm so lucky to have a dog who likes to sleep at least until 6:30 or 7, and a cat who is particularly affectionate in the dark, dark morning before the household is stirring. Almost every day, Mark and I drop Isaac at The Learning Shack before 8 and take Gus to the beach so he can run in circles, chase sticks, wrestle with his pals, and wade in the icy water. Weekends are a different story: I turn into a lazy morning sleeper-in, and I usually wake to the sound of Mark closing the door behind him as he and Gus head off to the beach.