School can't teach me to rise early

I'm up.

I'm up.

Really.

Yawn.

Maeve, the newly minted second-grader in our house, is three days into her year, and Ally, who moved up into the 3-year-old class at her school, starts Monday.

I wish I could be more excited, but I'm too tired.

I've never been a morning person, and the start of the school year always reminds me of this.

As much as I want to look prepared for the day when I drop them off, I don't.

I think I've got a case of mom envy. I see other mothers there who have come perfectly dressed, coiffed and made up for their day on the job.

I wish.

When you see me at school, it's likely I'm in my PJs, shuffling along in flip flops, with a cup of coffee gripped tightly in my hands.

I need time - time, people - to wake up. I need my morning paper and a cup of coffee and, well, time.

I cannot just get up and go, which is bad for my kids.

But it's also a reminder

to me that, even when you're the grown-up, supposed responsible one, you still have to accommodate your children's schedules, which means that, if you're a parent, you're never too far from a schedule that requires you to get up early in the

morning.

Honestly, I thought I'd left those days behind when I graduated from high school. In college, I could set my own schedule, and I was happy to take a seat in the afternoon classes.

I wish I could say my

husband, Jeff, made up for my morning shortcomings.

He doesn't.

I and the children are often out the door and on our way as he snoozes away.

It must be nice.

If it could be put to a vote, I would be among the folks who would request the school day start around

10 a.m.

I hear you early risers booing me now, you up-at-the-crack-of-dawn types.

No thanks.

I would welcome that schedule because it would mean my children would be out of school around the same time I would get off work.

Fabulous. No after-school care worries.

As it stands, I'm trying to keep my eyes open, my seatbelt buckled and remember to sign school papers and pack lunches.

Just thinking of the year ahead exhausts me.

I need a nap.

Yawn.

Just keep nudging me, and I'll wake up. Promise.

Michelle Rupe Eubanks is a staff writer at the TimesDaily. She can be reached at 740-5745 or michelle.eubanks@timesdaily.com. For more from her, visit TimesDaily.com. Her column appears on Sundays on a rotating basis.