My Wake-up Call Wears Pink Pajamas

My daughter is determined to make the sun look lazy. And that's no easy task considering the longitude in which we live. (Please pause while I put on my Farmer's Almanac hat and reveal that the sun rose today at 5:30 a.m., and that we live just a hop, skip and a comfortable car ride from the first place in the United States where the sun can be caught stretching its rays in preparation for the dawning of day).

Unfortunately, Sheridan has outpaced the sun nearly every morning for the past two months.

I find myself wishing that early bird perks extended beyond worms. Because really, I don't see what the big deal is about getting the worm anyway. It's not like we eat them (unless of course, nobody likes us and everybody hates us, which I sincerely hope is not the case here.)

So my dear Dani, can we stop stockpiling worms and focus on something we can actually use? Say, for instance, SLEEP??

(With Caed as my witness, I swear I didn't have her pose for these pictures. She pulled out this random interpretation of Early Bird meets Where the Wild Things Are entirely on her own.)

But alas, the sleeping beyond 6:00 a.m. just isn't happening. Every morning is the same. And really, I have only myself to blame. I freed her from containment far too early in life.

If she was still in her crib, she could "wake happily and talk to herself" until I came to fetch her at the decent hour of 7 a.m. And yes, I'm using air quotes. Because she's never been the "I'll just happily entertain myself in my crib" type. And yes, I could have slept just fine through her "happy entertainment", if ever the opportunity arose. And yes, I just said "and yes" three times in a row. Forgive me. It's just that I'M TIRED. And yes.

I want to believe that buried somewhere in the innumerable predawn moments I share with my daughter, there is an ordinary moment itching to become extraordinary, a sleepy moment begging to be sweet, a foggy moment ready to be burned clear into dawn.

Maybe this one:

Or this one:

Or even this one:

Perhaps there is more to this early bird thing than just worms. A whole lot more.

Thanks to Emily for hosting Tuesdays Unwrapped and in doing so, reminding me that these ordinary moments are totally worth waking for!