Dawn. Something I rarely saw before I had children, in fact I think up until age 29, I had seen dawn only a handful of times. A few times I saw it to get to the airport to catch an early flight. Occasionally, in my late teens/early 20s I saw it after staying out all night. Once, on the 1st of January 2000, we got up to watch the sunrise, after all, New Zealand was the first place in the world to welcome in the new millennium. But, I must confess, I am not a morning person. Even when I was nursing, I managed to wrangle a position that allowed me to work the much more lady like hours of 8am-4.30pm.
Recently, I was talking to a good friend who has recently become a mother. She was bemoaning the lack of sleep and she was adamant she would never adjust to getting so little of it. The funny thing is, you do. You really, really do. These days, if I get to sleep in until after 7am, I consider myself lucky. I can honestly say that in the last two and a bit years, I have seen more dawns than I have had hot breakfasts.
When Holly was a baby, I hated the night waking and early morning starts. I longed for her to sleep through the night. Since Isla has been born however, I have grown to like the night wakes.... just a little bit. Being a second child, you just don't get that same one on one time that you do with your first. So, there is something lovely and special about those times in the middle of the night when I take the little one into bed with me. When she snuggles up close and I can hear the rhythmical sounds of her feeding and feel her little hand stroking my side. It is our time, lovely, quiet, peaceful.
One day, I look forward to sleeping all night and not starting my days before the sun but for now, I try to appreciate these times because I know they will be over before I know it.
