Routine

The rain is pattering on the windows.
It is dark outside.
I set the alarm early and reluctantly crawled out of bed.
If I want a few moments to myself I need to take them before the kids wake up and we embark on our get ready for school routine.

Routine.

My life suddenly has routine: a set bed time, a set up time, a set dinner time, a set we have to be somewhere time.

There are weekdays and weekends and Thursdays are early out days.
Ivory walks out of the big red brick building at two instead of three.
There is an extra hour of sunlight. A precious extra hour of warmth and light in our day, and our days have already been getting so much shorter.  The sun late to rise and early to set and it is only September.  It will get so much darker yet.

Last Thursday we walked among tall grasses, spied the bright red berries of wild asparagus, and admired the yellow of the first fallen leaves.

It was warm, and sunny, and almost summer.

The river was cold and lazy. 

I want this to be routine - our Thursday Early Out Routine.
Summer, fall, winter or spring I want that extra hour to be outside in sun, rain or snow.

The rain is still pitter-pattering.
The kids need woken up.
It is just me and them, them and me for the rest of the week.
I have had my moment of quiet, of "clear thought" and warm coffee.
Now it is time for pulling on clothes, brushing hair, yogurt and granola and a rain boot march to school - On with the routine.