5:15am: My alarm goes off. If I slept through the night, there is a 50% chance that I am about to be startled as I realize either our 2-year-old (Bodie) or 4-year-old (Sophie) is sleeping 2 inches from my face. I sneak out of bed and mold my pillow in a way that makes it seem I am still next to them. This is a desperate attempt to have some quiet time before the typical morning chaos ensues. I walk out of the room shaking my head and wondering how I did not notice them sneaking in bed in the middle of the night.
There is a good chance my wife (Jenny) is already walking our dog (Lola.) I walk to the kitchen only to realize she has once again beat me to the satisfying act of pushing the ON button on the coffeemaker. I briefly glance at my phone/email/calendar to see if anything needs early attention or for a reminder of early meetings.
5:20am: While I wait for Jenny to finish walking Lola, I realize the dishwasher is clean. I race to empty it before she gets back. Once she walks in, I smile next to the empty dishwasher and ask her if I can go on a run before the kids wake up. She always agrees even though she knows there is a high likelihood that Sophie and Bodie will wake up and ask for one thousand things while she is nursing our 9-month-old (Remi.)
5:30am: I rush out the door to start my run before the kids wake up. I have Lola with me if she didn’t get a walk yet. I’m probably listening to Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats or some completely random playlist during my run. As my run ends and I get closer to the house, I laugh to myself while imagining what chaos I might walk into.
