Darcy has continued the alarm use, but Madison dropped it two years ago. She never heard the alarm. She claims she never hears me. For the most part I come in and kiss on her, she opens her eyes, and moves around and then promptly goes back to sleep once I exit the room. Then I return five minutes later and wake her with a loud voice. Five minutes after that I repeat, and then five minutes after that I'm ranting and raving. She jumps out of bed and is ready in ten minutes and out the door as time is up. It is annoying to me as a mother and annoying to her sister who sits in the car in the driveway waiting for Madison to get outside so they can reach school on time.
Once last year when Madison was doing one of her slow getting ready routines I backed out of the driveway and drove around the block. When I returned to our house Madison was standing in the garage looking forlorn, crying, and was calling me on my cell phone. I told her that it wasn't fair to the rest of us for her to put us through this stress each morning. She agreed she needed to get up earlier and promised she would work on it.
That lasted all of two days and we were right back to where we started. At the beginning of this year I told her that 7:45 was the last time I would come into her room to wake her. Any time after that and I would leave her behind to take Darcy to school. I would return for her, but she would be tardy. That scared her into action for a day and then once again she was back to her slow routine. I stuck with the 7:45 AM wake up call, but would also shout loudly, "Let's go" ten minutes before I actually had to leave the house. That usually got her up and moving.
I hate being late for things. My husband, on the other hand, is more laid back. He always has been. My mother refers to it as "Boos Time". He will deny all of this, of course, but the man is always moving at a slower pace then me. I am much like Madison in that I get up and can be ready in ten minutes or less. I am not a person who puts on make-up or dresses to impress. My mother wasn't like that and I followed in her footsteps. My eldest is apparently taking that part of me and the slow part of her father and combining them into her own. I spend the drive to school ranting and raving about all the things Madison didn't do that morning like eat breakfast, brush her teeth, wash her face, etc. It isn't a good way to start the day.
Yesterday started out like every other day. I snuggled with Darcy and Elliot who joined us on Darcy's bed. Elliot and I moved into Madison's room where I kissed on her and Elliot took an article of clothing off her bedroom floor and took off running. She was frowning while I kissed her, and I mentioned how much I missed the little cheerful Madison that use to stand in her crib hopping up and down when we came into the room screaming, "Hi Mommy! Hi Daddy! Elmo's up too!" Madison did not respond, but rolled over while I opened her window blinds. She is definitely not a morning person, unlike her younger sister who I say has a bit of Russ reincarnated into her...the most happy, sickening cheerful morning person ever.
I left and started making lunches. Finished with that I went into Madison's room and told her to get up. She moaned. I dressed. I entered her room again at 7:47 and yelled for her to get up and told her this was my last time coming back in and that I would leave without her. She said, quite loudly and in her most oh-my-god-you-are-overreacting-mother voice, "Alright Mother!" I left the room.
At 8:00 I went into her room to find her on her back, mouth opened, snoring and sound asleep. I went into the kitchen and told Darcy that she should go in and wake her sister as I had said I wouldn't come in again. Darcy claimed to have done just that three minutes later, but I have a feeling it was done in a quieter voice then normal. Madison did not appear.
At 8:10 I was in the car honking for Darcy. She couldn't believe that I was actually following through on my threat. Now Darcy felt uncomfortable and probably wished she had done a better job of getting her sister up. Despite her being a tad different in the caring department from her sister, she does love her and takes her side in most disagreements when going up against the adults. I closed the garage door and took Darcy to school, leaving Madison behind.
I had to get out at school to take care of a matter in the office. The teachers wanted to know where Madison was and upon learning I had followed through on my threat told me I was a good mother. The office staff laughed and fist pumped me. The head of the school I think was in shock that I had done this. I told him I didn't relish going home to find the kid crying and upset over the whole thing, but next year she would be in high school, and I wouldn't always be there to help her be responsible. (That sounded like my own mother coming out of my mouth, but in this she was right...shhh...don't tell her I said that.)
I then ran an errand that was scheduled for that morning, and I returned home to find my daughter in the same place I had left her. She was still sound asleep. It was 9:15. My threat had always been to leave her until she awoke, but I had other things on my plate for the day and so I woke her quite gently and asked her if she felt okay. She said she was fine and sat up. I mentioned that she should get up as it was 9:15 and OH MY GOD, WHAT? WHAT? WHAT HAPPENED?" She shot out of bed as if I had fired her from a cannon. Then came the tears as I told her I had awakened her three times that morning and she still had not gotten up. Then I left the room and went off to listen to the two messages I had on my answering machine. Yes, she had slept through two phone calls.
In the car headed to school I calmly explained my rational. She explained that she had no memory of me coming into her room at all. I told her everything I had done that morning. She cried some more. I again explained my rational. She cried some more. I told her I loved her. I went into the office with her where she picked up her tardy slip. I kissed her while she cried some more and I sent her off to class.
This morning the girls are involved in an all day math competition. The car pool ride was due to pick them both up at 8:00 sharp. Madison was up at 7:00 and in the shower before my alarm even went off. She was still the last one out the door, running around grabbing things that should have been laid out the night before, but I'm hoping this is progress. Only time will tell...
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