Lately I’ve been getting up before everyone else in the house. Some days it’s so early that our dog barely cracks an eyelid or moves her tail in recognition of my presence – instead letting out a big sigh and burrowing a little deeper into her blanket.
It’s quiet when I get up. Sometimes I hear a soft snoring from Avery’s room, but most days it’s so quiet that I have to tiptoe my way down the hall in fear that in one single step I will creak the floor and everyone will suddenly be awake and asking me for breakfast/clothes/toys/books/where’s my/me/me/me and my quiet solitude will disappear right in front of the faces of my smiling children.
It’s hard to find quiet time these days. We play hard everyday and even though the bedtime routine starts at 6pm, it’s usually not until at least 8-830pm that the kids are actually asleep – in their own beds – and I can finally breathe. Most nights I keep working until about 11pm – doing all the fun things like the dishes, packing lunches for the next day, sweeping the floor because really, didn’t I just sweep this yesterday??? Toys need to be put away, plants need to be watered, clothes need to be washed, folded or ironed, and then put away – only to get soiled again the next day. It is exhausting – these kid rearing years – and it’s even harder to find solitude or even a few moments of quiet through the fun days and late night chore-fest.
So I’ve been getting up early every single morning. Creeping slowly and quietly to the kitchen to brew some tea and then making my way outside and finally, to the garden. Some mornings I just stand and water – listening to the “swoosh” of the faucet as it comes on and the thumping pumping noise that the hose makes as it fills up with water makes me wake up just a little bit. Showering the plants with droplet after droplet of their morning water-breakfast and my eyes crack open just a little more. Sips of warm tea while watching the sun peek it’s head over the ridge – I’m sure I’m quite a sight for anyone that might be up at the same time as me…just a lady standing in her garden in her pajamas and ruffled hair watering her plants and listening to absolutely nothing and no one. It’s so dreamy.
And then like a snap of your fingers, all the plants have been watered and I can look up to see our black dog wagging her tail at the backyard. She’s finally realized I am awake and she wants outside – wants to come and sniff and roll in the grass and get some love before the furless babies wake. We walk back into the house together and are greated by the rest of the waking household who are now looking for breakfast/clothes/toys/books/where’s my/me/me/me and I look into the faces of my smiling children and off we go….
See you tomorrow garden.
XO,
Jenn
cantaloupe breakfast bowls
Makes two servings
1 small cantaloupe
1 handful of blueberries
1 handful of raspberries
1 medium banana, peeled and sliced into rings
1 cup greek yogurt or vegan greek yogurt
1 handful of granola (I used this recipe)
Cut the cantaloupe in half and scoop out and discard the seeds. Taking a spoon, scoop out just a bit of the flesh around the center hole to make a well for the toppings. Flip the cantaloupe over and slice just a bit off of the rounded bottom of the fruit so that when you set the melon down it will sit flat.
Fill the hole in the cantaloupe with yogurt and top each melon with a bit of the blueberries, raspberries, banana and granola. Garnish with edible flowers if that’s your thing. Enjoy!!
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