>Ah, mornings. My collegiate-type daughter doesn’t like to do anything that has an A.M. after the numbers. My teen is more of a morning person, but he’s still, well, a teen. He’ll do mornings, but grudgingly.

On a school day, Amigo’s alarm goes off at 6:00. He drags his mind out of sleep mode, drags himself to the dresser for clothes, and slinks downstairs to have breakfast. By this time I’ve already been out of bed with some semblance of coherence since 5:30, showered, dressed, and more while waiting for him. We sleepwalk through breakfast, brushing teeth, morning medicines, and then watch a little morning news and weather before going outside to wait for the bus.

It all runs fairly smoothly unless he oversleeps. Let’s not even suggest the possibility.

Lately we’ve had an additional body in the house. La Petite is home from school and working, which means we have three drivers and only two vehicles. Most mornings now Husband wakes up an hour earlier than his usual, drives me to school, and then takes care of himself and gets to work. La Petite takes her break to run me home in time to meet Amigo’s school bus.

One morning I requested that Husband drive me through Jo to Go, my favorite school day caffeine source, and the barrista simply looked into the car at me and asked, “The usual?” Husband shot me a half-smirk, half eye-roll, and shook his head. Heck, my morning usual is a 16 oz. hazelnut with no cream or sugar. Nothing fancy or expensive, really! It’s a locally owned place, too, so I’m supporting the local economy. The service is fast enough that I waste a minimum of gas, and….well, I can rationalize anything if I try hard enough. Even on a wild and woolly workday morning.

Fortunately, this routine only lasts until school is out and that flexibility that is a teacher’s summer begins. Then I become the chauffeur, taking La Petite to work and Amigo to appointments. And on most summer days, I make my own coffee.

This post is based on a topic recommended by Parent Bloggers Network and Kraft Bagel-fuls. Please feed your children breakfast before school; trust me, they learn better and test better if they’re not hungry.