I try not to rise before 6:00 a.m. any given morning unless I am working in a school or leading staff development. Since I wasn’t doing either of those today, my alarm was set for 6:10 a.m. Plenty of time to get ready before Isabelle’s 7:05 a.m. wake-up time. After all, today was going to be a writing-from-home day, so I didn’t need to be up that early.
But Isabelle had other plans. Or at least her bladder did. She came into my room at 5:08 a.m. and said, “I needa go potty.”
I bolted up and hustled her to the bathroom without donning my glasses. Once in the bathroom, Isabelle did her thing. Why does she even need me here? I wondered in my half-asleep stupor. But then, she started talking to me.
“Whatcha lookin’ at?”
“Huh?”
“Whatcha lookin’ at? Are you lookin’ at me?”
“No. I’m not looking at anything.” I considered the question a bit more. “Maybe the shower curtain. I’m half-asleep. You know, it’s the middle of the night. I didn’t even put my glasses on. I can’t see anything.”
She didn’t seem to care. She kept right on going. “You have your meeting?”
“Yes, I finished my meeting last night before I went to bed.”
“On the computah?”
“Yes, on the computer.”
“Why you talkin’ with your patients?”
“They weren’t my patients.”
“Who were dey?”
“My friends. They’re my writing group. We talk about our writing.”
“Oh.”
“Did you like coming in and seeing them on the computer?”
“Yes.”
More banter. Finally, she flushed, washed, and got on her way.
She declared “I’m not tired,” upon returning to her bedroom.
“But it’s the middle of the night.”
I realize this was a blatant lie, but I wanted to go back to bed. Somehow, I convinced Isabelle to play quietly.
“I sit in my chair.”
“What will you do?” I inquired.
“I wanna sit in my chair.”
“Okay.”
We hugged. I went back to my bedroom. By this point it was 5:27 a.m. I tried falling back to sleep, but never did. {Sigh.} Instead I meditated and rose from bed around 6:15 a.m.
Around 6:30 a.m., I checked the monitor and it revealed Isabelle sitting in bed reading books to Teddy. Cute.
I checked the monitor again around 7 a.m. and found the stack of books had grown taller. I turned on CBS and began watching “CBS This Morning.”
By 7:10 a.m., there was no movement from Isabelle’s room. I checked again. The stack was even taller and she was still reading.
“Do you like comedy?” I asked my husband as he brushed his teeth in our bathroom.
“Yeah,” he replied.
“Watch this.” I handed him the monitor and walked down the hall to knock on Isabelle’s door.
“Go away,” she said.
“Excuse me!” I said from the opposite side of the door.
“I mean,” she paused. “Please don’t come in.”
“That’s better. What are you doing?”
“Reading books!”
A few minutes later Marc was ready to leave for work. He attempted to enter Isabelle’s room. However, she turned him away too. She was reading and didn’t want to be bothered. I was SHOCKED. She always wants to see him in the mornings. She didn’t care about getting a hug or a kiss. She wanted to keep reading.
By 7:25 a.m., I had to extricate her from her room or she’d be late for school. That’s when this happened:
CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF THE THIRD ATTEMPT TO GET INTO HER ROOM.
Even though I set the timer, she called for me about a minute later. She was finally ready for me to come in. I wish I had a camera when I entered her room because there was a stack of picture books about 18″ high on her bed! As annoyed as I was about being awoken long before sunrise, I was pleased she spent two hours reading quietly in her room this morning.
Raising Literate Humans 
Stacey, this is adorable and hilarious and heartwarming all at once! “Don’t come in! I’m reading!” I will think of that and chuckle so many times today!
I love her huge stack of books. She certainly does not lack for literary stimulation. So adorable!
Those are the moments to hold on to, for sure. So sweet that she was doing big work in there and didn’t want to be disturbed.
Love this! You do such a great job of capturing the moment with your words. But, hearing her little voice is just priceless!
Thanks! I couldn’t resist recording it. I didn’t know what she’d say when I walked up there, but considering it was the third time, I figured it’d be a charm. 🙂
I LOVE it! I love the multi-media treat. And most of all, Stacey, I love that you are raising a WILD READER!
So what is the name of your blog? Sounds like you are doing a great job of it! I love having a couple of hours to read in the morning, and, as always, I love how you document the moments of her life.
Score for mom and dad!!!! You are raising a reader!!!! Go Isabelle!!! There’s nothing better than hearing our kid say “Don’t come in! I need five more minute to read!”
This is adorable, Stacey. Hooray for Isabelle!
The magic of reading! I loved the way the scene unfolded in your writing.
2 hours of reading time! I’m jealous of Isabelle. My 4 year old always wants company in the bathroom too. “Mama, keep me company!” So funny.
You know you’re doing something right when you are turned away because of reading. Love the post and the way you brought it to life.
How wonderful! Before you know it, she’ll just go to the bathroom without an audience. Growing up so fast!
When I was little I hated to be interrupted when reading! So glad to see there are still young readers out there. Love this slice.
Adorable! So fun to read. I tell my kids it’s the middle of the night early in the morning too. It doesn’t work as well with my older son though… 😦
This just makes me smile. I love these moments.
Love this post! So real. Brought me right back to those days of sitting on the cold tile floor, dozing off and then being poked by my little guy…”Time to go to bed, Mom,” he said.
OMG, that’s so cute Gael!
Too too cute! I hope you never stop sharing your adorable daughter’s stories-they are the best!
It’s funny how chatty they can become when you are about to fall over asleep and find the side of the tub makes a nice pillow! How exciting that she likes to tuck herself away and read!