Wow! I am constantly amazed to realize my kids have no idea how good they have it in this house. I guess it is my fault for giving them so much. I am not talking about material stuff. I am talking about what I do for for them.

Every morning I wake them up. Zach says he can’t stand waking up to an alarm clock. It is too jarring for him. Poor baby. This morning was the last straw waking him up. His bedroom is on the third floor (Richmond’s version of a basement). We have an intercom system up to the third floor so we can call them down when they are all holed up. Every morning I call up to him in his room “Zach it’s time to get up,” and then I push the call button to make sure my voice has penetrated his sleepy brain. Usually, he responds fairly quickly with a short return push of the call button to let me know his feet are on the floor and he is headed to the shower. This morning he didn’t respond, didn’t respond, didn’t respond. So I stood at the intercom with my finger on the call button. It is not a pleasant sound. It is loud and shrill. It sounds like a whistle mated with a smoke alarm. Think that was a nice and gentle wake up for him? I think it was nice and jarring! I would rather wake up to an alarm clock. I can choose a radio station and push the snooze button until the very last second. I would rather wake myself up than wake up to the intercom call button.

Every morning I fix them breakfast ~ a nice big breakfast. Claire gets a small omelet and a cup of milk. She usually takes her lunch so I pack it for her. The boys get a huge breakfast. The boys’ breakfast menu is three scrambled eggs with ham and cheese and a smoothie with banana, frozen berries, milk and kefir. The boys’ breakfast is big for two reasons. The first reason I fix them such a large breakfast is Lucas doesn’t eat much lunch because of his medicine so I want to make sure he has something in his belly to sustain him through the day. The second reason is Zach would spend $10 a day on lunch if I didn’t fill him up at breakfast. I know I do a lot for them in the morning but I like fixing them breakfast in the morning. I know they are starting the day right.

What I don’t like is their assumption that I am here to do their bidding. “Ah, I don’t have to hurry,” they think, “Mom will drive me if I miss the bus.” No. No I won’t drive them. It’s not that I don’t have time to drive them it’s the principle of the thing. They are so laxidaisical in their approach to getting themselves out the door. It drives me insane! I am constantly on them with a time check. “It’s 7:53. It’s 7:57. It’s 8 o’clock time to get your butts out the door!” Maybe I do too much for them. Maybe they are just a little too dependent on my constant harping. Maybe I need to back off. I am here to help them, for sure, but I don’t think I need to be here to do their bidding.

It’s a fine line between helping them grow up and hindering independence. I am not sure where I am on this fine line. What I am sure of is I do what I do for the love of my children…even though sometimes I know they have no idea how good they have it!