The Power of Preparation169everything you need is in the space where you’ll be work-
ing out.Prep Your Morning Spot
It’s one of my favorite moments of any non- school day. As I
sit in my closet office, affectionately known as my cloffice,
reading and sipping coffee, I hear a quiet little knock, and the
door slowly creaks open. Messy light- brown morning hair
peeks around the corner, and my son’s blue eyes light up when
he realizes he woke up before his sisters and gets me all to
himself.
He’ll give me a sweet hug and then sit down on the little
couchlike cushions behind me as I wrap him up in a soft blan-
ket. I love making my children snuggly warm.
One by one, my kids wake up and come into my little five-
by- five- foot space. They squish together with their books and
breakfast, and at some point, I’ll declare, “Twenty- six hun-
dred square feet!” They all have their own rooms as well as the
family rooms, but they find their way into my tiny little space.
It’s not a perfect spot, but it’s definitely cozy. On one side
is my desk that faces and extends the length of the wall. My
guitar hangs on my left, and directly in front of me above my
desk is a magnetic board covered with a million sticky notes
with quotes and messages from my kids.
Behind my office chair, opposite my desk, the wall is
divided into two sections. On top hangs a long shelf the length
of the wall, about four feet up. On it sits a cube of baskets
where I keep most of my clothes, and a hanging rod is above
that. Beneath that long shelf is a tiny sitting area covered in
pillows, floor cushions, and blankets where my kids like to get