[Morning Routine | Office Commute Edition] Remembering the morning tears from nursery school days makes me realize how easy things are now
Hello! Today I'd like to write about my morning routine on days I go to the office.
Every morning, things are a bit hectic, but since my son started elementary school, I'm so grateful that he goes with his school group.
Back in nursery school, he would cry, saying, 'I don't want to go, I want Mommy,' and I'd have to carry him, coax him, get him into the car, and somehow manage to drop him off.
There were even days when I cried myself in the nursery school parking lot.
Looking back now, I think I was working so hard back then.
While remembering those times, I'll look back at my current morning flow.
☀️5:45 Wake up
Almost every day, our dog jumps onto the bed to wake me up
. Even while half-asleep, I head straight to the washroom. My habit is to first rinse my mouth with mouthwash. Ever since I heard that morning saliva contains a lot of periodontal bacteria, I never skip this.
Then I wash my face, fix my bedhead, and change into my day clothes.
I set the washing machine, and by this point, it's 6:00.
🍙6:00 Breakfast prep
I feed the dog and make rice balls for my husband and son's breakfast.
I put tea in their water bottles, and on days I don't have lunch plans, I make my own bento too. (Often it's just rice balls).
But in the morning, I'm definitely a bread and cafe au lait person.
I toast a hot sandwich for myself and make a cafe au lait with a Dolce Gusto capsule. This is a staple I've been doing for over 5 years now.
💄6:20 My breakfast & makeup
I sit at the table and eat breakfast in a flash.
Once I'm done, I do my super-speed makeup right at the table.
Cushion foundation
Eyebrows
Blush
Eyeshadow
Eyeliner
Mascara
And that's it. It probably doesn't even take 5 minutes.
By the way, on days I work from home, I skip the eyeliner and mascara.
Here are the cosmetics I keep repeating↓
👦6:40 Go wake up my son
And then, they just won't wake up.
It's a solid 10-minute struggle. I manage to wake them up and say "Have a good day" to Dad.
🚶7:00 Dog walk and taking out the trash
My son gets dressed and has breakfast.
In the meantime, I go walk the dog & take out the trash.
Our mornings have become much smoother since I started the son's morning gaming allowance system. The "You can play games if you get ready" strategy. This has been a huge success, and now there's almost no reluctance to go to school. I think I'll write more about this in detail another time.
🐾7:30 Return home
I play with the dog for a bit, stamp the contact book, and check for anything forgotten.
👋7:50 Son leaves with his school group
I change into my work clothes, put on accessories, brush my teeth, and give a light spritz of perfume.
🕗8:00 Leave the house
Writing it out like this, mornings are incredibly busy.
I never have time to go to the bathroom, so I'm a bit constipated which is a problem... (I'm thinking of solutions for this too).
🍃Summary
Now that he's in elementary school, I really realize how much the morning burden changes just by him going to school on his own. Up until third grade, he couldn't even be left alone for the time it took to walk the dog, so the fact that he can stay home alone now is a really big deal!
The daily battles of his nursery school days are now just a fond memory.
I'd love to give that version of myself a big hug right now.
And I'm sure that in 5 or 10 years, I'll look back at this time and think, "Those days were fun too."
Thinking about that, I spend my hectic but peaceful mornings.
✨If you'd like, please share your morning routines with me too.