Morning Pre-Dog and Mornings With Dog

I am not a morning person.  I get up later than I should.  I leave for work as late as I feel comfortable, and that time slides back as the year goes on.  My children are self-sufficient.  Jake is at college so I don’t have to worry about him.  Luke is a junior in high school so my only job is to make sure that he is awake in time to catch the bus or to make his way down the hall to his computer.   

The morning was as simple as it could be.  I say “was” because my family adopted a puppy in May 2020.  I was at the point in my life that no one relied on me in the morning.  Now Rory relies on me. In the morning.   I am not good at mornings - did I say that already?

I have tried various arrangements of my morning routine to see what works and gets me into work on time. 

Old routine - wake up at 6:45, shower & get dressed, do hair, grab stuff leave house at 7:30, arrive at 8:00, 40 minutes before sign in.

New routine - 

Wake up at 6:30

Shower & get dressed

Walk dog 7:15 - 7:45  (She is not fond of walking as soon as she gets up so I need to entice her with a special treat.  She will only get off the couch for the word “meatball!”  Once we are into the walk, there is picking a place to pee, picking a place to poop, stopping to eat branches, stopping to meet dogs, barking aggressively at dog who don’t want to be met,  barking and lunging at bikes (the kids in our town bike to school), staring down squirrels)

7:45 - 7:50 - Plug in curling iron, get Rory’s breakfast and fresh water, gather up my lunch and water

7:50 - 8:00 - Curl hair, run upstairs and put curling iron away, leave out puzzle toys with treats, take out a few toys, fix blankets on couch, say, “See you later” code for “I’m going out for a while”

8:02 Run out of the house and arrive at work 5 minutes before sign in.

Lesson learned:  It’s a really good thing this dog is adorable, and I love her so much.