Wake Up Scenarios

A Face to Vanquish all Thoughts of Sleep

I’ve written about the night owl side of my personality before. I’ve always stayed up late, at least since my mother lifted restrictions back around junior high days. I am rarely asleep before midnight. This meant, early on, a predictable white hot hatred of early mornings. This, of course, resulted in severe culture clash when I joined the Army. They seemed to take the whole “I do more things before 9am than you’ll do all day” mantra very seriously. After more than a quarter century in uniform my body adjusted to the weird hours, late to bed early to rise.

They Even Trust Me With a Little bit of the Feeding

I still cherish those last few minutes in bed before getting up though. I hadn’t found anything that rendered waking up early a genuine pleasure; until this morning. A full half hour before I was scheduled to wake up my daughter tapped on the door and asked if we could look after our granddaughter who woke up early and was ready to party. She ended up in our bed between my wife and me. I could not have been more entertained. She thought it was beyond comprehension that we would want to remain supine. If either one of us (mostly me) tried to doze off she would immediately turn her complete attention to the offender. When the alarm finally did go off and I had to get up for my morning workout she seemed genuinely pissed off.

Fascinated with the Whole Vacuuming Experience

She’s very verbal and although her vocabulary consists mostly of screeches and gasps, she also performs a nearly flawless raspberry sound (thanks to some Wingman tutoring). This warbling sound has become her official greeting to her mother, much to my daughter’s “delight”. I think this is something Wingman will have to live down.

She Loves her Mommy

Cuteness Personified

What I've Found out Front Each of Past Two Days

Each of the past two days I came home to find my wife and granddaughter waiting for me out on the front lawn. Perfect New England summer days were meant for that type activity. My granddaughter does not like the texture of our front yard grass and will daintily sample it with a single finger before retreating to the center of the blanket, away from the green threat. I got to spend nearly a half hour hanging out with them yesterday; it was the absolutely flawless way to end a semi-stressful work day.

Grass Sampling

Our daughter introduced us to the TV series Parenthood which we now watch together each night after the First Blog Reader hits the sack. We’re watching from the beginning as all the seasons are on Netflix. It’s a great ensemble cast with a large extended family confronting a wide range of familial issues with humor and heartache. It’s great to find something we can all enjoy together. My daughter enjoys watching even though she’s seen all the episodes. I think seeing them again after her experiences since last November has given her a new perspective.

The Ladies

Gramma's a Little Happy

Just Doesn't Want to Be Photographed

Impossible to Calculate Level of Fun