Last night before bed, Daddy told me that there was going to be a surprise in the morning when I woke up, but I have to be a good girl and wait until Mommy and Daddy are ready. He said it’s called being PATIENT and that most people feel too entitled—which means that they think everything should go their way all the time—to be able to wait for good things to come. Daddy says I should try being PATIENT in the morning because something extra good will happen.

But I am so excited! I don’t know what kind of surprise it could be! Maybe Mommy is actually a princess and they just found out like in my favorite movie The Princess Diaries. It would be pretty funny if Mommy had to learn how to act like a lady like Mia does. What if Mommy is too clumsy and she falls down in her high heels in front of the Queen of England? It makes me giggle to think about it, but I know that if Mommy is a princess, then I am also a princess and I will have to watch my manners. That could be why Daddy says I should learn how to be PATIENT. I bet that princesses are pretty PATIENT, actually.

Right now, the little hand on my Mickey Mouse alarm clock is on the three and the big hand is on the five which I learned in school means that it is 3:25 in the morning. I think it is weird that even though it is the morning, it is still dark. Doesn’t the morning mean daytime? I am so excited, so I can’t sleep, but I’m being a PATIENT girl and staying in my bed because on Saturdays, Mommy doesn’t get up until the little hand is on the seven and the big hand is on the nine which means 7:45. Daddy doesn’t get up until the little hand is on the eight and the big hand is on the three which means 8:15.

Mommy and daddy don’t like it when I get up before them on the weekends because I usually get so excited that I run and jump right in the middle of their bed when I get up when the little hand is on the six and the big hand is on the six which means 6:30.

6:30 is three hours and five minutes from now and that means it is just too early to be waking up because even though it is morning, it is dark out which means we need to all be sleeping.

Oh look! The little hand is on the four and the big hand is on the ten which means it is 4:50! I guess I must have fallen asleep while I was thinking about falling asleep even though I don’t remember falling asleep. I thought I was awake this whole time, but I guess not. I wonder what the surprise could be! Maybe Daddy is going to take me to the zoo for a special father daughter day. Oh boy, that could be so fun! We could paint our faces like lions and tigers and pretend to be part of the zoo. We could pretend that we were actually escaped wild animals and roar at everyone! We could have lemon ices and scrunch up our face because of the sour and then smile at how funny we look. I would like that. I bet that could really be a good day. I hope that is the surprise.

When I look out the window, it is less dark, like the sky is actually grey and everything outside looks electric. It looks pretty neat, and I’m actually sorry that we are usually sleeping when the world looks like this. I wonder if it only looks like this when the little hand is on the five and the big hand is on the two which means it is 5:10! Wow! Almost time to get up!

All this time, everything was grey, but now there are yellows, oranges, and blues, and I guess that means the sun is rising and I fell asleep again because the little hand is on the six and the big hand is on the eight which means it is 6:40 and only one hour until Mommy gets up! I am being so PATIENT.

I wonder if the surprise is a big pancake breakfast with chocolate chips and bananas and whipped cream and powdered sugar. Oh wow, I’d actually love that! Pancakes are so fun to make and Mommy always lets me stir the batter and Daddy always puts a little bit on my nose like I was sneaking it behind Mommy’s back. We always laugh so much and Daddy puts it on everybody’s noses.

“Wake up, wake up, my little chickadee,” Mommy says, rubbing my tummy. I open my eyes an see Mommy on one side of my bed and Daddy on the other side and my clock has the little hand on the eight and the big hand on the four which means it is 8:20 and I was so good and PATIENT!

“Mommy and Daddy!” I say as I reach out for a big bear hug to snuggle-buggle up tot hem.

“Hello, my girl. Guess what we’re going to do today?” asks Daddy.

I can’t remember any of my guesses from the nighttime, so I say, “What! What?”

“We’re going to ride the old carousel at the beach and eat ice cream sundaes!” says Mommy.

Oh wow! That is so exciting. They go to get ready in their room and I jump up and get dressed in my Ariel t-shirt because of the beach and my stretchy green jeans.

By the time the little hand on my Beauty and the Beast watch is on the ten and the big hand is on the twelve, which means 10:00, I am walking toward the carousel holding Mommy and Daddy’s hands. We take steps like one, two, and on three they lift me up by my arms and swing me forward and it is so fun.

Daddy and Mommy and I all go on the carousel and Mommy chooses the beautiful white Pegasus to ride and Daddy puts me on the seahorse next to her. He stands by myside with his hands on my waist and then we start moving. The round and round makes me sleepy, so when the little hand is on the ten and the big hand is on the three, at 10:15, I rest my head on my Daddy’s chest and I can hear his heart beating and I drift off to sleep. It is my best day.