Another Good Friday

I had a conference call at 6 AM this morning.

It was especially hard dragging myself out of bed at 5:59 AM, having had only 4 hours of sleep because I was up working on a project half the night that I was due to talk about with my colleagues who were calling in from around the world ... at 6 AM.

But once I was up, as is always the case, I felt like a superstar.

There is something extremely empowering about being awake before anyone else and having a brand new day before you. Everytime I wake up early - I am inspired to do it again the next day.

Until ... the next day rolls around.

And because I don't have 10 people calling in from around the world that are expecting me to be on a conference call - there is no reason, except to get a jump start on unloading the dishwasher, for me to get out of bed.

So, I don't.

Instead, I'll curl up next to Charlie, ecstatic that I can close my eyes for another 90 minutes.

But today, I was up early - and it felt great.

I didn't hear a peep from the rest of the house until 8:15 AM, which allowed me ample time to complete my conference call, respond to the 35 e-mails I'd received since yesterday at work, get dressed and unload the dishwasher.

When Charlie and the kids rolled out of bed - I whipped up my breakfast specialty of Cheerios, bananas and strawberries. I then informed the troop that today ... we were all going to the pool. It is a beautiful blue sky day and because I'd accomplished more before 8 AM than I usually do before noon - we were going to celebrate. The kids love the pool and we love the pool. We especially love it when we are the only people there and it's like our own private resort.

Similar to me wondering why I don't get out of bed every morning at 6 AM ... I wonder every time we go to the pool - why we don't swim every day.

It's perplexing - until I remember that I'm lazy.

While Charlie and I took turns sitting in the jacuzzi, or soaking our feet - as is my case because I don't want to get my core too hot, and watching the kids splash on the steps - the other one had an opportunity to swim laps. (I'm really not that lazy).

We took a break to eat a picnic lunch and I struck up a conversation with a woman (who mom would love) from Massachusetts. She lives right down the street from us, and is the proud grandmother of 2-year old twin girls, who live an hour north in San Diego County.

After talking with this woman for a half-hour about everything from potty training to crib escapees, we were discussing a tot park where she likes to take the twins to play, in their neighborhood. I told her that I'd been to that very park, when Charlie and I were looking at open homes, three weeks ago. And while at that park, we were approached by a family who confused Carolyn and Elizabeth with the twin girls that live in the neighborhood and whose house was directly across the street from the one that we were looking at.

Two and two were put together... and it turns out the twin girls are the grandchildren of the woman I was sitting next to in the jacuzzi, today.

I don't know if I was more intrigued by the notion of what a small world it is, or - that there is a loving grandmother that lives a few blocks away from us, who misses her 2-year old grandchildren desperately when she is away from them ... and has lots of experience with potty training and crib escapees.

My day just kept getting better.

After spending two hours splashing in the pool, we dressed our exhausted kids and brought them home. While Charlie dashed off to work this afternoon, I put the children down for a nap and for the first time all week, there was no struggle.

Maybe it was because they were asleep on their feet after a morning at the pool - or maybe it was because they knew that resistance was futile, now that we've installed a baby gate across the den. Once Charlie and I conceded that the girls were no longer confined to their cribs and discovered that they were stealthily escaping their room and waking up William in HIS room, we hard-mounted the baby gate that was once extended 14-feet to block our kitchen from our family room, across the 6-foot opening of the den.

At first the girls were struck by the novelty of a gate across their room.

That quickly wore off when they realized they couldn't get out and heard their evil mother laughing "HA HA HA HA HA!!!! My little hellions - you are TRAPPED!!"

Back to my awesome day ...

After spending a little time cleaning up the house (for a second bible study group that we will be hosting at our house, beginning tonight), I jumped in to take a quick shower.

When I came out - the children were sleeping , the house was blissfully quiet and my car keys were safe.

I rubbed on Neutrogena Sesame Seed Oil and checked out the tan that I picked up, while lounging in the sun, poolside today. Even though I was awake before the birds this morning, I don't look or feel tired. Infact, I look and feel great.

Kind of like a huge glazed ham.