Early Morning Cuddles

Life changes so quickly, and we often forget to stop and slow down from time to time. I’m a perfect and prime example of such a simple, yet wildly difficult, task. Between two jobs, writing a website and building a show, taking over the world with my assistant Pinky and raising a child, I stay busy. Every now and then, I get a simple reminder that if I lost everything, as long as I had C, things would be ok.

I’m a morning person. I like being able to get up early, get things done and hit the ground running. My mother and father would clearly disagree, particularly after their divorce, because they had to get up early and had no time for a lazy son who refused to get to school on time. But I really do like some alone time in the morning. It’s a perfect time for prayer and silence.

However, I don’t always get up when I want (roughly 5am) and when I don’t, I get frustrated with myself. Not that I take it out on others, but I mostly just get irritated, say, “Curses, foiled again,” (because I am, as we all know, an evil 1880’s railroad prospector), and move on. Mornings like today are refreshing because I woke up to that wonderful little blonde I call C.

We all know about the storms last night, and my prayers go out to those affected in Arkansas and Oklahoma. So I don’t know if she got scared or just wanted to cuddle, but either way, I’m ok with it. We don’t always get opportunities to cuddle, so I try not to overlook those moments. I woke up after being kicked in the back, and although I initially tried to play it off as a dream, I knew quickly it wasn’t. I woke up, searched for my glasses, smiled and began my day about 3:45am. It wasn’t hard finding glad prayers on this Monday.

We’ve got to slow down. Our kids are only so little for so long. Soon, they’re forming their own ideas, their own deeper feelings and their own lives. They don’t want Mom and Dad. They want their friends. Mom and Dad become the enemy. Sure, once they go to college and realize they have to be adults, they realize Mom and dad were right, and they become friends again. But C is inching ever closer to thinking Dad is an idiot (I am, but let’s let her figure that out on her own).

This doesn’t even include changes in my life that might not give her as much space to come cuddle in. That’s not a bad thing, God has blessed me 100 times over in ways I could never deserve. It’s just another adjustment. But this morning will serve as a reminder that I’ve got it pretty good.