It’s been awhile since I’ve contemplated the unexpected perks of being a mom, but now that my return to work is quickly approaching I’ve discovered another one.

First, a little background…

I am not a morning person. (I’m not a night person either, for that matter. Really, I’m at my best between 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.)

theBABY is not a morning person either.

In fact, she doesn’t like it when she wakes up at any time of the day. How do I know? Well, by all the crying that’s typically involved of course.

There is one major difference between us, though. If you wake me up before my body naturally wants to be up, watch out. Groucho!

Not so with theBABY.

In the morning when I go in to get her, she struggles to wake up just like her mama (minus the mood). She does a large amount of stretching, grunting and wiggling around before her eyes finally pop open for the day (or the next couple of hours, really) with a couple of hard blinks as they adjust to the light.

As she looks around completely oblivious to me, she rediscovers the butterflies on the wall and watches them intently for several minutes as they take their daily flight to nowhere.

Then it happens. Unexpected Perk #2.

Her eyes finally find my face and a full blown smile takes over hers.

Morning smiles.

It’s a whole new world I never knew! Some mornings the smiles last and last. On other days I get just one or two.

Either way, it’s my favorite way to start the day. Now when I’m torn from beneath my comfy covers, I have morning smiles to motivate me.

I’m still not a morning person, but morning smiles certainly help.

What’s your favorite thing to wake up to?