Get Up & Go

One thing I'm loving about my Ipod is that I can set playlists. Music to run to. Music to study to. Music to cook to. But my favourite by far is the one I created last week: 8 songs that have made my life better, my mornings less chaotic, and my days more organized.

It's pretty hectic in the mornings at our place. Andrew is out by 5 some mornings, and I'm left to make sure the kids are dressed, have had breakfast, have packed lunches and homework and notes in their bookbags, have fed the dog and cats, and somehow get to the end of the lane to meet the school bus at 07:30 am.

And some days - okay, many days - it sounds something like this:

No time to dawdle. Finish your breakfast. Have you put the milk away? Don't forget your homework. Where did you put your mittens. The bus will be here in 5 minutes. Let's GO!

Until this week, when I put my brilliant Get Up & Go playlist into action. 8 upbeat songs over 30 minutes. When the first notes of Who Let The Dogs Out start blaring at 0650, they know they need to be getting dressed. Green Day and Coldplay songs are good for eating breakfast, and by the time Blackie and the Rodeo Kings roll around, the bowls are being loaded into the dishwasher. Three more songs to go - lots of time to load up bags and run back upstairs for whatever it is we've forgotten. The rule is that when Great Big Sea begin to belt out End of The World, you'd better be wrapping up whatever else you're doing because when the song is done, it's time to put on coats and boots. With a 10 minute post-playlist window, we have time to find that missing mitten, grab the recycling box, rebraid messy hair, toss in a load of laundry... and still make it to the car and down the lane with minutes to spare.

I confess I get tired of the same songs in the same order every morning. But the kids love it. They thrive on it. And it works. The best part is that I don't have to say anything at all - the songs set the pace, and mornings have become a lot easier.