The Morning Routine

The day begins for us at 5:40am, when my alarm goes off.  The sun has already been up for a while at this point, which makes waking up much easier.  Back in August, the sun woke up at 5:40 along with us and the dull gray morning light made morning feel far too early.

I wake up the older girls while Dave gets himself ready for work and Sumi fixes breakfast and lunch for everyone who is about to leave.  With her help, my job is simply to keep the kids awake and on track.  Within an hour, they have finished all of their chores and are running around in the front yard while they wait for the bus.

The moment they step on the bus, I move back inside to get dressed and brush my own teeth before I need to wake the littlest girl.  If I'm lucky and noisy enough, that littlest girl wakes up on her own and that morning time is sweet.  Another round of breakfast and brushing teeth while Sumi makes another lunch, and then we walk up the street to her school.  The tropical morning feels a bit sticky and a bit sunny, but also vibrant and fully awake.  We chat with the gardeners and the bajai drivers, and we see ladies selling vegetables on traveling carts.  Sometimes I can forget that I live in Indonesia, but not on the walk to school.

I chat with her teachers and her classmates for a moment before walking back home.  I've been awake and busy for 3 hours by 8:30 in the morning, and my day has just begun.