June 1 Photo: Morning

Morning usually comes quite early in a household with small children, and today was no exception. In a way,  morning came multiple times today. It came for the first time at 1am, when my daughter woke up fussing and I had to bring her downstairs and let her sleep on my shoulder to settle her down (after several hours). It came again at 4:30am when she woke up needing her diaper changed, and needing yet more snuggling to calm her afterwards. It came for the third time at 6:00am when she woke up happily and playfully and I was able to give her a few toys in her playpen and let her entertain herself while I finally got a bit more sleep. It came for the fourth time at 7:00 when she decided she wanted company and yelled until my husband got up to get her breakfast. And it came for good at 9:00 when I got up after a few solid hours of blessed sleep.

So what could be my “morning” image? I had lost my chance at both sunrise and peacefully sleeping children. The early morning birds at the feeder were off doing other business by now. My breakfast of an English muffin and coffee was uninspiring, not to mention unphotogenic. While looking out in the yard to see what morning things were there, I spotted a glorious golden lily that had bloomed just this morning. I do love looking at the garden in the morning, and the lilies are my favorite flowers. But after I took a few photos of it and came back inside, I saw my daughter sitting in her high chair, determinedly feeding herself some cereal, and I knew I’d caught my perfect subject for the day.

My favorite part of the morning is seeing my children’s faces. I love them especially when they’re still a bit drowsy, when they’re feeling mellow and snuggly instead of energetic and wiggly. I love thinking about the new skills they’ll learn as we start a new day. And my daughter, at nearly 10 months old, is on the verge of so many exciting new discoveries! She’s ready to take her first step and say her first word at any moment. She’s just learning to feed herself and is constantly trying out new “grown-up” foods. She’s recently learned to climb stairs and open drawers and climb onto the couch. Every new morning opens up new worlds, new sensations, and new experiences for her.

What better image of the promise of a new morning could there be than the face of a child who has a lifetime of mornings ahead of her?