Every morning we go through the same thing between 6:45 and 7:15. I go into Lona's room and try to wake her up. She once told me that she likes to be tickled awake. So I pull off the blankets and sheets and then I start tickling her knees and then her neck and then her armpits and finally her stomach. She immediately starts hollering, "MOM, STOP IT! STOP IT! I want to sleep some more." This goes on for about two minutes where I then proceed to the boys room.

I flick on the light, climb Isaac's bunk and find him huddled under the blankets, sometimes with tears in his eyes because he's tired and wants to sleep some more. I haul the blankets off and give him a little tickle.

Then it's Job's turn. I climb back down the ladder to find Job hiding in a ball under his covers. I rip off the covers and try to uncurl him and haul him onto my lap. With his eyes closed, I tip him upside down and place his face near the dog's (if she's upstairs) so she can give him a sniff/lick. Then with eyes still closed he totters off to the bathroom. This is so much of a routine. The kids can count on this every morning that John works. But the mornings that he does NOT work, he has his alarm set for 6:00 (which is sleeping a 1/2 hour), gets up and brings me a cup of coffee. I really do prefer to sleep a little while longer (like another hour). Then he talks to me so that I really can't sleep any more. Finally I'm truly awake. He starts hauling kids in one after another for a family cuddle. Family cuddles don't last long, soon the kids are wrestling/jumping on the bed/ or trying to tickle someone: mainly me. And then we are up and ready for the day. I love family traditions even crazy ones like this. I think that I might miss this one day.