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| Go ahead! Sing! |
How do you 'rise and shine'?
Throughout my life, I have been summoned from sleep in various ways.
Some gentle.
Some strident.
All annoying.
My mom, a member of the 'never wake a sleeping child' sorority, let me sleep in till I woke up on my own.
Well, until I went to school, that is.
Then, her usual wake up call consisted of, “Diane! Get up! The bus will be here in ten minutes!”
Okay, I will admit that she usually called me much earlier than that.
I just wasn't listening.
Ahem.
Dad's form of summoning consisted of one word. “Spring!” And it was always obeyed instantly.
Mom, you could coax and cajole, but dad?
You moved.
Because.
Often, I found myself standing beside my bed with no idea of how I got there.
My Husby took a more creative, albeit (Oooh! Good word!) equally annoying route.
He would sing.
Badly.
And loudly.
In our house, 'Oh, What a Beautiful Morning!', the usually bright, happy, uplifting anthem from Oklahoma, sounded more like . . . honking. Or ball-bearings rolling around in a hubcap. (Don't ask me how I know what that sounds like.)
His 'singing' brought instant . . . let me put it this way: No one slept through it.
“Dad! Aarrgghh!”
Moving ahead . . .
Our oldest son had recently become engaged.
To a beautiful girl.
Our entire family had traveled to Fort Macleod to a reunion.
Our future daughter-in-law was bunking with our other daughters.
It was morning and there was far too much sleeping going on.
My Husby decided he needed to do something proactive.
He went to the door of the girls' room.
Cleared his throat.
And started singing.
You really haven't heard 'Oh What a Beautiful Morning' sung quite like he sings it.
Our future daughter-in-law looked at her future-sister-in-law. “Does he always do this?”
FSIL's answer was muffled by the pillow over her head. “Yes.”
“Oh. Maybe I'll have to rethink my joining this family.”
She did join. She comes from hardy stock.
I thought I'd tell you that in case you were worried.
Back to my story . . .
This morning, my alarm woke me.
“Bla-Bla-Bla-Bla-Bla-Bla . . .”
Suddenly I missed my Mom's repeated time updates, my Dad's single word warnings and my Husby's singing.
It's all a matter of perspective.
An alarm clock has no feeling...it just keeps going until you hit it, or throw it, oh..no...I've never done either.
ReplyDeleteRight . . .
DeleteAwwww...I love this. I used to wake up much the same way by my parents. My mother would open our doors and yell, "Rise and shine!!" Once we stumbled downstairs all bleary-eyed, my dad would look at my sisters and me and sing, "There she is, Miss America...."
ReplyDeleteOh, I LOVE this!!! Miss America . . . Love it!
DeleteMy husband used to bang on the kids' doors yelling, "House Keeping" every Saturday morning and he has been known to bellow (sing) a few things that are unrecognizable.
ReplyDeleteHousekeeping! Genius!
DeleteThe singing is just love, I think it terrific. Yes it is about perspective.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad had restaurants and a catering company so often would not be home until the wee hours. In order to see me when I was little he would wake me up so I could sit at the kitchen table with him and my Mother and chat. I maintain I am happy and alert when I wake up because of this early childhood practice.
THat is just the sweetest thing ever! He wanted to spend time with his family!
DeleteThe label says it all, Diane - for me, too!
ReplyDeleteIt takes TALENT, by the way, to sing badly! (I think you've mentioned your whole family taking part in musicals) Husby did good :)
He has an amazingly beautiful voice. The rest of the time. In the morning, it's just amazing...
DeleteLove that picture, by the way!
ReplyDeleteIt's one of my favourites! Neither of us looks quite like that anymore, sadly. :(
DeleteMy father used to send the German Shepherd in to roust us out. Which she did. With enthusiasm and a long wet tongue.
ReplyDeleteThese days my eyes roll back on their own. Long before sparrow fart.
Yep. The dog would have gotten me up. I can almost see it now--hiding under the covers and shrieking "Muffy! Down!"
DeleteI used to own a coffee mug with the words "I may rise but I refuse to shine"
ReplyDeleteI'm not a morning person and these days happily sleep until 9am after being awake half the night reading in bed.
OOOH! I love to read at night. I've been known to burn the midnight oil as well!
DeleteUp before the sun I am, a tradition I've kept for more than 6 decades. I face east, greet the dawn, acknowledge the beauty and power of creation. Quiet, no singing humans, no whining dogs, maybe a rustle of wind of song of an early bird. Rise, yes, shine, you bet, at least in my orbit.
ReplyDelete