Ten minutes.

This picture was taken at exactly 7:35 a.m. one morning last week.

We must be pulling out of our driveway no later than 7:45 a.m. for me to drop the girls and get to work at a decent time.

In this picture, both girls’ doors are shut and they were still fast asleep in their beds. I’d already done everything I needed to do to get myself ready, loaded and started the car, made their breakfast and let the dogs out one last time. All that was left was waking the two of them. Sounds easy, right?

Ten minutes. I had ten minutes to wake the girls, dress them, brush their teeth, and deal with any kind of unexpected surprises to get them out the door. You just never know what you’re going to get. Will Stella hop right up and want to get dressed? Or will she fight me every step of the way? Will I wake a fussy Scarlett, only to find that she has a fever and needs to stay home? Seriously, you just never know. I took a deep breath and opened their doors.

So many mornings I find myself in this moment. This moment where I know I should’ve woken them up twenty minutes prior, but just couldn't do it. I know there’s a chance we could be running super late and I hate starting the day off this hectic, but the thought of waking them from a deep sleep makes me feel so bad. Most nights we struggle to get Stella to sleep before 10 p.m. and if Scarlett wants to sleep past 7:30 a.m. then she must really need it. I find myself so conflicted. I always want to do what’s best for them and love when they have the chance to wake up on their own. They wake up rested and happy. I think we all prefer it this way. In the back of my mind I’m thinking… Ugh, if only I didn’t have to work and they could sleep as long as they want. But, in reality, I know that getting them to school where they can learn and socialize with friends is really good for them and having a job I enjoy is good for me too. So here we are.

I spent the next 17 minutes rushing around the house. I’m not even sure if we remembered to brush teeth and I know for sure Stella’s hair wasn’t brushed. We pulled out of the driveway at 7:52 a.m. and that’s when I took my second deep breath of the day. I was almost done. All that was left was hoping we could breeze through several green lights and get to daycare by 8.

It was a super fast drop and go that left Stella clinging to my legs and me passing her off to her teacher. I hate doing this. It leaves me thinking about her on and off throughout the day and wondering if she spent the whole day wondering why I left her like that. But hey, she got 20 minutes of extra sleep because of the choices I made. And to be totally honest, I’'ll do it again tomorrow. It might not actually be what’s best for them, but in that moment, that’s what my heart is telling me is right.

XO

Sarah

Full Disclosure>>> It is only during the week that the girls decide to “sleep in.” They were each awake by 6:30 a.m. both Saturday and Sunday of this weekend. Maybe someday we will get it right!