River Brown

If I had all the time in the world, I would spend it in the morning. Mornings are so rushed, so frantic. I scramble to find something to wear always hearing that voice saying, “nope it’s too cold for that, you don’t have shoes to match, won’t work because the little sweater is dirty, no that is too uncomfortable…” I think I lose about 15 minutes just choosing the clothes.
Then its go downstairs, straight to the kitchen to slather some peanut butter on a slice of bread – not my top choice, but it’s fast, and at the same time slather mayonnaise on a different slice of bread to make a sandwich. I boil water to get into my thermos, toss any fruit I see into my lunch bag, consider frying up an egg as I throw a protein bar alongside the fruit, decide it will take too long and head off into the half bath to apply makeup. Down another 15 minutes.
Why I do makeup downstairs instead of upstairs in my room is a mystery. I really don’t know how my makeup kits ended up in the bathroom, but what is more astounding is that they have remained there. I apply eyeshadow, eyeliner, sometimes mascara, and say I am done! Oh rats! My hair! So then I either leave it down adding some curls with a hot iron or just spreading mousse throughout. If I am not in the mood for that I pull it back into a ponytail. Down 10 minutes from this (I swear some day I want to go without makeup and see if anyone notices – I am surrounded by women who probably don’t give a darn!).
Then dammit, just as I realize that I have done my makeup I torture myself more by looking for accessories, a necklace, some dangling earrings, maybe a ring (what for? I end up losing them anyway!).
Then I get to shoving work items into my work bag, laptop, books, notes…
So by the time I am putting on my coat and grabbing car keys (hey where did I leave them last night?), a whole hour has gone by and I am most likely late…
Contrast this with a morning where time would not matter. I would go downstairs in my PJ’s still and make a real breakfast: scrambled eggs with turkey sausage, sliced fruit, toasted bread with honey…ooohhh ya! As I ate my breakfast I would watch the morning news or read emails or read a book! Once breakfast was consumed, I’d lounge around for a bit, just puttering about: tidying this, staring out the window, moving pillows around on the sofa…
When the mood strikes I’d head back up stairs, take my time choosing my clothes and doing makeup (maybe I might look better at this pace). If I am hungry, I could go ahead and have a bowl of cereal and enjoy some more puttering about. I could prepare a better lunch at this point. Maybe take some leftovers and get a scoop of peanut butter to accompany my apple. I’d most likely remember to toss in a fork. Then, after checking my work bag for all the essentials, I’d get car keys in hand and leave home (might be about 4 hours after waking up, but that’s because I would have all the time in the world).