My Morning Routine

Get up Grandpa. Grandpa get up!

Every morning at 6 am my bedroom door opens. There is a three foot tall silhouette, standing in the doorway.

Holding on to a stuffed animal, the silhouette, my four year old granddaughter Luna, steps into my room and climbs up onto the bed. This is a signal for Hank, our seventy pound Golden Doodle to launch himself onto the bed and coming flying towards me.

At this point he is no longer a big rambunctious dog. He is a physics problem.

He slams into my chest head first stretched out to his full length and comes to rest lying against me.

Luna has slid under the covers with her arms wrapped tightly around either “cheetah, vampire, bunny, or little Hankie” depending on which stuffed animal is her favorite on this particular morning.

Get up Grandpa!

Luckily, I am an early riser. I’ve been a wake for a few minutes. I’ve heard her bedroom door open and close, as she is right across the hall from me. When I hear the door close I know mine will be opening in seconds. I prepare myself for the force I know that’s coming, Hank.

Grandpa get up! Luna says as she stares at me.

What do we say?

Please get up Grandpa!

I have to slide sideways out of bed as Hank is leaning on me with all of his weight. As my feet hit the floor Hank leaps off the bed and shoots out the open door and down the hallway. He heads straight to the back door where he waits until Luna and I emerge from the hallway.

Do you have to go to the bathroom?

No. she says, jumping off the bed and going straight into my bathroom where she does indeed use the toilet. This gives me time to get my glasses, turn off my water fountain, and unplug my phone from the charger.

After a short bathroom break we have our chores to do. She runs into my office and standing on her toes, pulls the cord opening my blinds up and letting the light in. We move to her bedroom where I’m instructed to, Open my curtains please. The light floods into that room as well.

Reaching the living room I open the shades so we can see the sun as it’s coming up. Then Luna runs to the back door to let Hank out.

While Hank is tearing around the backyard on his quest for squirrels we are faced with a choice.

Some mornings we draw, or play legos and other games. Other mornings she just wants to watch cartoons. I set her up with the television then go into the kitchen get the coffee started. While I’m waiting on the coffee I let Hank back in, and get Luna some yogurt, water, or whatever else she might want to eat.

I want spicy chips.

You can’t have spicy chips for breakfast!

We have anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour before Fiona and/or Sam come downstairs from their room. On weekends it’s more like two hours as I let them sleep in. Now Luna wants nothing to do with me because, Mommy and Daddy are up.

Marcy, the older dog also comes downstairs and Hank chases her around the house until she can get to the backdoor and I let them both out.

During the week the three of them get ready for work, daycare, or whatever else is going to happen and I go into the other room and start my morning workout/writing routine.

Sixteen months ago we purchased this fixer-upper house and moved in together. Given the current cost of housing, and everything else, I believe more families are going to have navigate multiple generations living under one roof to make things work financially.

The layout of our house is great. It’s not huge, but the way the rooms are arranged we can each have as much privacy or togetherness as we choose.

It’s a learning experience for all of us and so far it’s been working really well.

I’m very lucky, and grateful, that we’re all able to live together. The time I get with my granddaughter is priceless.

This weekend they’re all taking off on a two-plus week trip to visit Sam’s family in California. They’re taking Marcy with them so it’ll just be Hank and I at the house.

It’s going to be awful quiet around here.

And you know what? I already know I’m going to miss my morning routine for those two weeks.

Thanks for reading.

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