a good morning

mornings can feel unproductive for me. i feel the heaviness of being woken up multiple times heaped on top of the reality of being a night owl, not a morning person. once claire is awake, she is running full force. "i need to eat", or "have a widdle snackie mom", or "i hungry" are the first words out of her mouth. i usually stumble around, make a first breakfast for her (she'll want to eat again when jack wakes up)
this morning was different. maybe it was that she only woke up once, then slept in until 6. maybe i had more energy to start the day.
the usual morning activities continued for the next hour and a half until jackson woke (most of which are interrupted by another item until bit by bit the list gets completed. or not);

• start the water for coffee
  
• unload the dishwasher
• feed her bottomless pit
• get her set up on a quiet game in her room
• make a cup of coffee
• fold some laundry/put last nights folded laundry away
• get myself dressed
• take her to the potty
• again, attempt to make that cup of coffee
• refocus the entertainment to one that is respectful for a sibling who is still sleeping
• clean up a potty miss
  

its usually the cup of coffee that doesn't quite get completed. or gets made and one sip, then abandoned to clean up a potty mess, after which is cool. one cup. that's all i want. but i have become rather snobbish about that one cup. must be hot, fresh in order to be worth the one cup a day! since those expectations are rarely met (usually the cold factor sets in) i am wondering how i can adjust my expectations - but this is one of those things i don't want to budge!
so you can imagine my elation when i found myself at the table with my cup of coffee, the magazine claire had earlier asked me to read to her (my mothering mag), and my breakfast, ALONE!!
yes, alone.
do you eat with your children?
i love breakfast foods, but am not a morning eater. i used to call it morning sickness, sick i almost got sick to my stomach if i would eat, but my mom encouraged me to call it something different. while i like the idea of eating meals as a family, breakfast is the one i give up easily. sometimes it is the only guaranteed time to get that dishwasher completely unloaded, the kitchen cleaned up, finish making my cup of coffee, and get myself fully dressed.
it took me a minute to realize i was alone, that i actually could read an article in the middle of the morning, and sit while i finished my hot cup of coffee.
i thought about checking on them in the living room, but i could hear almost every word. they were reading to each other. sweet bliss!! yesterday while they were napping, the neighbor girls came over with a bag of books they had grown out of, so the kids have been devouring fresh books. i heard jackson say, "yes, claire, that is a gorilla!!" and "let's read this one next". claire would happily comply, prompting him to tell her about another page. they giggled together.
i was in heaven.
five minutes peace.
savor.
at the library last week, claire picked up the book, Five Minutes Peace by Jill Murphy. she had no idea how perfect this book was for our family. it describes a mother's repeated attempts to slip away from her three children, for just five minutes peace.
this morning i got mine!!
i just wish i knew the recipe to repeat it.