Wil has a very set — and happy — routine in the morning.

His alarm goes off, I go to his room, sing him a song and give him a hug (definitely a daily stop and smell the roses moment for me — making time for songs and hugs are Wil’s priorities and remind me of mine).

Wil gets dressed then always makes an appearance as he walks into the living room opening his arms wide showing off his outfit. “Mom look!”

He then watches Wild Kratt’s on PBS Kids while he eats breakfast. Next on is Alma’s Way. At the start of Alma’s Way is the theme song (which he of course sings). The song ends with an enthusiastic “Wepa!”

After the theme song he knows it’s time to put is plate in the diswasher, brush his teeth, get on his Crocs, and pick out his hat (he wears a baseball hat every day). It’s a fun and timely schedule that works for us.

Except one morning…

There was a Wild Kratt’s movie instead of the regular 30 min show I was in the bathroom getting makeup on waiting to hear Wil’s “Wepa!” It didn’t come.

I went to the living room to see what was up. Wil was happily chilling, breakfast eaten, clearly not realizing the time.

If you read my blogs when Wil was younger, morning routines were HARD. Any little thing could throw him off. We’ve come so far from that time; so very far. Because of those early experiences, our mornings are always very carefully crafted.

I took a deep breath, and explained it was a movie. “Sorry Bud. I know this is not what you are used to. We can still sing Alma’s Way while we brush your teeth.”

He grunted and let me know he was not moving.

“Hey, I get it. But school is starting on time whether you are there or not. They’ll sure miss you.” I walked away to leave him to processing it. If he has a high motivator on the other side of his upset, he usually comes out of it if I give him space.

Sure enough, he started self-talking. I eavesdropped from my bedroom. In minutes he popped up and started singing.

“Wepa!”