Kinbaku-bi

Early Mornings

My alarm goes off at 6:30 a.m. I snooze it a few times to catch a few more minutes of sleep. I always set my alarm earlier so I can stay in bed a little longer. Lazy, I know. Everyone has their moments of weakness. After the alarm goes off for the last time, I get up and stretch; something I have been working on since I am getting older. I am learning with age that it's essential to take care of your body as you go. I go to the bathroom, brush my teeth, wash my face, and take a hot shower to wake myself up and do my morning manifestations. I hop out, dry myself off, and put on some lounge clothes for the time being. I go back into my room to make up my bed because if you cannot control anything else that happens during the day, you can manage your appearance and the things in your possession.

As I head downstairs towards the kitchen, I look out my window. It's not a great view, just the other houses in our neighborhood. The Johnsons always leave their garage door open at night as if they want someone to rob them. I know it's a nice neighborhood where you can practically leave your doors unlocked, but where I'm from, you don't do stupid things like that. The grass needs cutting. Usually, Sabrina would take care of it, but since the divorce, she only comes by to pick up and spend time with Prince. It's bittersweet. I'll just have a lawn care service come and cut it during the week.

I continue down the stairs and almost trip and break my ankle on a Lego piece. Luckily, I only had a couple more steps to go. Prince must've dropped some pieces when he brought the entire Lego set upstairs. I head into the kitchen to begin to work on Prince's lunch for school. I pack him a hearty meal because I know he likes to share his food with friends. Whenever we're eating dinner, he can barely finish his plate, so I know what goes on when he brings back an empty lunch bag. It's not a big deal. I admire his generosity. I open the pantry door and scan to see what I'm going to make for him. I know he loves his fruit snacks, so I grab two packets of Welch's tropical-flavored fruit snacks and put them in his bag. Although I don't truly approve due to the high percentages of sugar per serving, I know it's one of his favorites, so I suck it up. Turkey club sandwich. Baked Cheetos. Fuji apple. Edamame. Alkaline water with strawberry flavored electrolyte powder for taste. Lunch is packed, so I head back upstairs to wake him up so he can start getting ready for school.

Time is now 7:23 a.m., and he must be at his bus stop at 8:45 a.m. to be picked up by the school bus. As a child, I hated how my mother would wake me up. She would turn the light on without any warning, snatch the sheets off of me, knowing she turned the heat off at night to save money on the gas bill. When I didn't wake up instantly, she would start yelling at me to wake up. Such a fantastic way to start your morning off, right? So now, as a mother, I refuse to wake up Prince that way. I knew how it made me feel having to wake up like that. Shitty. Annoyed. Confused as to why my mother was in such a bad mood so early in the morning.

I go into his room and nudge him a little bit. He's responsive, but he's still sleeping. I nudge him again and call his name. He begins to come to. Now, this is when I turn the light on. He gets up, and it's like clockwork. He goes to his bathroom and starts getting ready for school. His uniform is ironed and ready to be worn. I like to iron his uniforms on Sundays because that is when I do laundry. Knock two birds out with one stone. I head back downstairs to make sure everything in his lunch bag is ready to go.

He's not big on breakfast, so I buy him different smoothies so his metabolism can still be activated for the day. After zipping up his bag, he comes downstairs. The time is 8:17 a.m. Prince can be a bit slow-paced in the morning, which is understandable for his age. I'm not expecting him to be fast, just on time. I always try to teach him about time management and prioritizing. He's been receptive, in his way. He grabs a smoothie out of the refrigerator. Green Machine by Naked. One of their best smoothies if we are honest. He loosens the top and begins to start drinking it. As he's doing so, I begin to speak my daily affirmations and manifestations over him. "You are smart. You are beautiful. You are loved. You are blessed.". All things I wished I heard growing up as a child.

Time is now 8:39 a.m. It's time to head out to the bus stop. I always walk with him and wait for the bus to come. I always keep eyes on him. Not trying to have my child kidnapped. Often, we stand in silence as we wait. Not an awkward silence, but the type of silence when presence is more important than words. I look down at my watch as the bus comes from around the corner. Time is now 8:42 a.m. Mr. Willie opens the bus door and waves at me as Prince gets on. I tell him to have a good day. I watch as the bus pulls off until I can no longer see it in my sight. Mr. Willie came three minutes early. Today's going to be a good day.