30 Days of Gratitude 2011: Day Sixteen

I am aaaaaaaaall kinds of grateful for my very own bed. I have long believed that there's nothing on earth that feels as good as burrowing under the covers of your own bed. I suppose that belief began as an elementary-schooler, when our house was heated only by a woodstove, located downstairs and on the other end of the house. When it was time to get up for school during the winter, it was still dark outside and my room would be freezing. There was nothing I wanted more than to just. stay. in bed.


This trend continued through middle school and high school, where it began to dawn on me that mornings just came too stinking early. Honestly, if it's still dark outside, it's not morning yet. 


It was good preparation, I suppose, for when I'd have a job and be expected to show up on time. But I still didn't enjoy it. I dreamed of a day when I'd be able to wake up on my own - not to the annoying buzz of an alarm clock. It didn't seem that it would ever happen.

Then I became a mommy. I assumed that I would never see my bed again - or at least not for more than an hour or two at a time. However, I was blessed with a baby that didn't mind sleeping (so long as she was in the appropriate place, which was right beside me.) I can count the times that I was up with her in the middle of the night on one - yes, one - finger. She was that easy. We caught on fast that nursing and co-sleeping are a magical combination - and best yet, one that didn't require feet touching floor after bedtime.

And then I had another little girl. I don't even need any fingers to count the times that she kept me up all night. It simply didn't happen.

Rachael is a bit of a morning person, which is unfortunate. I don't tend to get along well with those, when forced to be in close approximation to them. She rolls out of the bed smiling and ready to face the day, but has (thankfully) learned to keep it to herself until Mommy is mostly awake.

Milly is indifferent; she gets up when she wakes up, neither in good mood nor bad. However, she quite often sleeps until *I* wake up, which is nice. No tiny dictators demanding my presence too soon.

Yes, I am grateful for my bed - and finally, for the opportunity to spend more time with it in the mornings. Don't wake me up while it's still dark outside unless my sheets are on fire.