Can I Get Up?

“Mommy! Where are you?” Lily sang from her bed.

Please be after 7:00am, I thought to myself, eyes still closed. The time change had messed everyone up. After spending the entire summer in daylight savings time, everybody was finally sleeping to a decent time in the morning. 7:30am.

“Mommy! Where are you?” she sang again.

I opened my eyes and groaned. Only 6:30am. The boys’ bedroom door opened and two elephants emerged, racing for the bathroom.

“Andrew,” Lukas whispered loudly. “I really have to go. Bad!”

“Me too,” Andrew hissed back.

They were boys. Why couldn’t they go at the same time? Why did it have to be the same fight every morning?

“Mommy!” Lily said angrily. “Where are you?”

I got out of bed and went to her door. I opened it a crack and the angry look on Lily’s face melted away.

“Mommy! It’s time to get up!” she said cheerily.

I shook my head. We had a rule in this house-no one gets up before 7:00am. It seemed crazy to fight for the rule right now but I was gonna do it. “Not yet, sweetie. It’s still night time. Let’s go potty and then get back in bed.”

Lily got out of bed and followed me to the bathroom where the boys had finally worked out their own bathroom issues. “Back to bed, guys. It’s not 7:00am yet.”

They stomped back to their bedroom and closed the door with very little audible argument.

“I want to lay with you,” Lily said sweetly as she sat on the toilet.

I nodded, not in the mood to argue much more. It was too early. “You can lay with me.”

She finished in the bathroom and followed me to my bed where she promptly laid in the warm spot I’d left behind just moments ago. I sighed.

“Where’s Daddy?” she asked.

I got in bed next to her. “Scootch over. He’s at work, darling.”

She moved over. “I want to lay in my bed.”

“Then lay in your bed.”

She got out of the bed and ran back to her room, only to return moments later. “Look what I found!”

I opened my eyes and looked to the end of the bed. She was holding a Halloween card in her hand. “That’s very nice, but you need to get back in bed, remember?”

She ran back to her room and I heard the slight squeak of her bed as she lay down again. The house was silent for the next two minutes.

“Mommy?” Lily called. “Can I get up yet?”

“No!” I called back. “It’s not 7:00am yet!”

“Oh,” she said.

Silence.

“Mommy?” Lily called again. “I can’t find my guys!”

“You don’t need your guys, you’re supposed to be sleeping.”

“But I can’t find them.”

“Lily, go back to sleep.”

I looked at the clock. 6:53am. Was this really worth it? Why was I doing this? But I was already in it and I had to come out the winner. What message would I be sending if I gave in now? Besides, my bed was warm and the house was cold.

“Can I get up yet?” she called again.

I sighed. Why did I continue to answer her? Wasn’t that just as bad? “No.” There. One word. Simple. What could she say in response to such a short answer?

“I’m hungry.”

I looked at the clock again. 6:59am. Almost there. This was ridiculous.

“You’re supposed to be sleeping.”

The boys’ bedroom door opened again and they emerged. “It’s 7:00am!” Andrew said proudly.

I looked at my own clock again. They were right.

“Can I get up now?” Lily called again.

I sighed and went to her room. “You can get up now.”

“Yay!” she said and ran past me, down the stairs. “I want Yoo-hoo.”

Another day had begun on my mothering adventure.