The Alarm Clocks

Our girls have become our alarm clocks this fall. Somewhere between 6:30 and 7am, and on rare and wonderful occasion, as late as 7:10am, two little girls will come padding into our bedroom. The littlest one will come to the far side and wait for me to pick her up and put her in bed. The bigger one will crawl into her dad's side. The bigger one has taken to going back to sleep for up to an hour if we can get out of the bed quietly with no lights. The little one wants to talk and play.

There have been days in the last couple of weeks where we couldn't believe it was possibly time to get up when they came in. But no, despite some very dark mornings, their internal alarm clocks are reliable.

Meanwhile, their big brother would just rather stay in bed until closer to 9am on gray, cold, rainy fall mornings. Trying to get him up, dressed, breakfasted, and doing anything before 11am is like prodding a herd of sheep. Fall has come.