Early Riser

Rhen has always been an early riser. He's up by 6:30 most days, sometimes earlier. In fact he went through a tiresome phase where he'd wake up at 3 or 4 in the morning, ready to go for the day. He'd refuse to go back in his room and throw a crying fit if you tried to make him. Of course we didn't want him to wake everyone else up so we'd have to get up with him. He finally got over that, but still wakes up early. Most days he'll walk into our room and put his face right next to mine and look at me until I wake... or he'll walk in and shove a cup in my face and say, "dad! get me juice!" Recently he's finally caught on to manners, so he shoves the cup in my face and says, "Can you get me some juice please dad?" That's been a nice change, but i'd still prefer other methods of waking me up. I really haven't used an alarm since he was born because I'm usually up way before I need to go anywhere.

This morning he was up again at about 6:30. Stacie's gone to girls camp so I was laying in the bed alone. Actually I think it's lying in bed isn't it? Lie-ing? Ah, who cares.

Rhen quietly walked around to Stacie's side of the bed. I could hear his shuffling little feet and thought it odd he wasn't right in my face as usual. I mumbled, "hey buddy, you sleep well?"

"ya, but i didn't have dweams," he said, though i'm not sure he understands what they are.

He crawled up the bed, onto my pillow and spooned my head and shoulders with his lanky little self, chin resting on my forehead. He wrapped his arm around my neck, hand on my chin, little fingers stroking my unshaven stubble. Then he gave a little squeeze and said, "You're a really good dad."

That made all the cup-in-face shoving worth it. I reached up behind me and hugged him for a minute, and then...

"Dad, I need juice."