Mornings like this one.

The alarm went off. The dog lazily peered up from the foot of the bed, her droopy eyes said it all. But alas, it was time. I stretched through to my toes and felt rested, ready to start. The usual routine unfolded - shower, dry, dress. I opened the children's room door and peeked in.
They lay in a peaceful slumber. The very thought of waking them made me want to just snuggle in instead. I readied their clothes then picked up the ones from the night before that didn't quite make it into the basket. I stopped as I heard the little one sigh in her sleep and thought me too. Ever so softly I called to them and to my surprise they began to stir. He stretched through to his toes while I stood smiling remembering how I had just done the very same. She buried deeper into her pillow and I nodded knowing that was on my mind as well.
A short while later we were brushing teeth, washing faces, combing hair and the other mundane tasks that are whisked into mornings. It looked like business as usual but it felt different.
There was an inexpicable magic this morning. Perhaps it was something in the way we woke (gently, calmly) or the softness of our steps (rather than the fast-paced stomps life so often fills up with) or the tone I made a concious effort to set. Maybe it was the tenderness that I paused to notice or that softness that children naturally have that caught me today.
I stopped and noticed the difference. I inhaled the moment then went about the day.