Getting Back to Routine: Early Mornings with Blue

Hi, I’m Amanda! Read my introduction to learn more about me and Blue, my fluffy fire point Himalayan-Persian cat.

My husband and I are avid up-before-5-am-ers. He likes to hit the gym to start his day, and I prefer to put in a few work hours before our kids wake up. It’s a routine that’s worked so well for our household until the holidays hit this year and swept away the motivation to get the day going before sunrise.

Feline Unmotivated

We’re not the only ones feeling particularly lazy these days, either. Sleeping in is typically rare for Blue since she likes to keep to a fairly formal feeding schedule. She's enthusiastic about our 4:15 am alarm and has mechanically adopted this hour for her internal clock. If there were an urge to hit snooze, her tummy would not let us forget we had important business to attend to. Recently, though, our ivory minx has not only let us sleep in the extra hour but finds herself lost in the sea of blankets tossed about our bed, partaking in our extended slumber. Undoubtedly, she's comfy-cozy and prefers the extra cuddles before the day takes us on busy, very different paths as if to say to herself, “My food will always come, but these snuggles are momentary.”

It is easy to slip into casual and simple habits after the holidays, and Blue is a testament that it affects more than just us humans. We’re all desperately clinging to sleep-ins and changing out of jammies once the sun has taken her place in the sky. So, I suppose our goal here is to find our rhythm again and return to the schedule we all treasured before the Christmas break put us in a chokehold.

Taking Back Cat-trol

Today is the first day in a while that all four of us, my husband, Blue, Subi, and myself, have abided by the undesirable sound of the alarm clock and slid out of our bed at the proper time. Blue instinctively headed to her spot, perched on her side of the kitchen bench, loudly requesting her breakfast order be served now. As soon as her feast of wet/dry food is placed in front of her, the room is quiet. I think at that moment, we both remembered how good it felt to be up and take in the calm before the bustle of real life took control. Blue could enjoy a quiet meal without loud voices or feet rummaging about, and I could sit and get my bearings before having to answer emails or make lunches.

Although Blue doesn’t have to clock in at a 9-to-5 or sit through lectures at school, she still seems to appreciate the flow of a routine and has a mild understanding of time. I could be reaching here, but it feels like she knows the importance of respecting certain agendas. I mean, only the ones that pertain to her, of course; she is still a cat. She may not understand an analog clock or care about the digits on the stove, but she appears to thrive on having some sort of predictability in her day. The rest is up to her to decide. Will it be six naps today? Four trips to the bathroom? Maybe we’ll chatter at the prairie chickens on the neighbor's front steps. Who knows. Every day brings new opportunities. She’s a fly-by-the-seat-of-her-fur-pants kind of gal. Very cat-like.

Blue is currently sitting in my lap, napping and purring away. I think she and I can agree that getting back to our normal is just what we need.