Mommy Senses

It's a funny thing. I wake up in bed, woken by some soft sound I can't identify but my mommy-senses being on hyper-alert, I lay in bed and listen. I hear a faint shuffling, doors opening and closing almost soundlessly. It wouldn't have woken up a normal person, but I am a mommy and my senses are trained to hear such things. Then I listen again, trying to identify the culprit. Who is out of bed? Do I need to get up? If it is my older child, I can let her be. I can get up later and survey the damage, discipline her for anything she may have done in the early morning secrecy. A part of me wants to turn over, assume it is her and go to sleep but I stay awake and listen. If it is my two year old, I have to get up. She is a one-princess-storm child and where she goes in secret disaster follows directly behind her. I listen for Princess Belle's tell-tale whispering. She is always whispering to her pretend friends and even early morning escapades are not enough to silence her chatter. But, there is none. All I hear is the soft pitter-patter of little feet on the carpet and I know.

If I can't see you, you can't see me right?

It is Princess Magpie, wandering around trying to decide what trouble she can accomplish before mommy gets up. So, I get up and sure enough there she is, grinning at me. Excited to see me, wanting me to help her start her day.

And so . . . my day begins, long before I am ready, but secret disaster crisis averted by my mommy-senses sensing things that Prince Charming was completely unaware of, I head to the coffee perk to pry my eyes open and start my day anyway.

She keeps me on my toes, but she certainly is a cute one!