Thursday Thirteen #13 -- Helping Dad start his morning off right

First of all, thanks for all the nice comments from yesterday's Wordless Wednesday. Who would have thought that the picture without my face would get the most comments?!? I was not mad, nor snubbing the camera, but just receiving a lot of brushings from Mom while I watched It Takes A Thief with Mom and Dad.

Today's Thursday 13 is number 13 in my series, which I think is funny and should deserve something 13-ish, but I didn't think ahead that way, and have this one on my mind, so here goes ... Helping Dad start his morning off right -- it is an important job, after all.

1. Alarm, snooze, alarm, snooze, alarm ... get up already! If Dad's still trying to snooze, I'm usually the one who will walk across his head and pillow or give him a gentle head bump to stir him.
2. (On the contrary, it is usually Maggie or Huggy Bear who will snuggle against Dad and keep him in bed ... not helping.)
3. Once Dad is up, Maggie usually supervises his start. She will follow Dad as he gets his washcloth and towels and gets the shower warmed up.
4. While Dad's in the shower, Maggie and I prowl the bathroom and the little half wall by the shower waiting to make sure he emerges from all that water unharmed. Usually a head butt or breath sniff after the shower assures us everything is OK.
5. As Dad does his morning ritual (shaving, brush teeth, all that good stuff) we take turns putting our stink back on him. Josie will rub his legs, Maggie prowls the counter top. Sometimes Maggie will lay in the wet sink Dad is trying to use, but he usually transplants her to the other sink (the one with the stopper that won't stay up -- Dad, haven't you been saying you're going to fix that for, I don't know, a year and a half?)
6. After Dad's done making himself presentable, he'll scoop poop and take that out to the trash. No real helping here ... all that help was done during the night.
7. Then Dad's back in the kitchen. Here Huggy Bear, Maggie and Josie shark around Dad's feet for their treats. Since he's making his lunch and the pantry is open he'll give them treats.
8. Then Dad fixes a bowl of cereal and usually goes up to the computer room to read his news and morning comics online (Overboard, Non Sequitur, Dog Eat Doug, Lio ... he's trimmed his list down over the years.) Maggie always joins him at cereal time, and sometimes Huggy Bear or I will, too. HB used to head butt the cereal bowl, but stopped that recently, which made eating breakfast a lot easier for Dad, and less messy.
9. When Dad's done he leaves a very small amount of milk in the bowl for Maggie (and sometimes Huggy Bear, if he's in the mood).
10. The Dad finishes getting dressed by putting on his shirt, tie and shoes. Maggie or Josie will attack his shoe laces if they see them. Dad acts like he doesn't want them to do this, but deep down inside he thinks it's cute and sweet and funny.
11. Now it's back downstairs ... lots of up and down in the morning Dad! This is where we either decide to snuggle into bed with Mom or follow Dad. I'll usually take Dad's spot and sleep on his pillow. Huggy Bear will sleep on the edge of the bed with his paws hanging over and looking out the window.
12. If we go downstairs with Dad we'll hang out with him until Tish shows up (they carpool) and put some extra stink on him, and a few cat hairs so everyone knows he's ours. If Dad's waiting in the dining room, which he usually does, I'll take the window sill, Huggy Bear will get up on the table, Josie will rub against Dad's legs and Maggie is all over the place, climbing the backs of the chairs, jumping up on the window sill with me or just being everywhere at once.
13. Once Dad heads out to work he says bye to us all knowing we love him and that we'll watch over the house. Then, for sure, we go get in bed with Mom and nap because that's a full morning and we need the rest.