All My Mother's Rules

Chapter 3: New Leverage

"Sarah, Sarah, wake up."

I never needed an alarm clock in the morning. Being the responsible student that I was, my clock was set to loudly and rudely wake me up at 6:45 a.m. every school morning so that I could get ready in time before the bus left.

But rather than waking to the buzz, buzz, buzz of the alarm, my morning usually began with Emilia tugging at my blanket. I rolled over to my side and took a peek at the alarm clock – 4:37 a.m. Even this was earlier than usual for her.

"Sweetie," I yawned. "It's much too early. Go back to bed."

I couldn't wait until she was old enough to understand how to use a clock. I tugged the covers back over my head and rolled over to the side facing the wall. I got a few moments of reprieve until I felt Emilia tugging at my blankets a bit harder than before. Life had been so much better before we had lowered one of the sides of her crib, which let Emilia get out whenever she pleased.

"Sarah, can you change me? I'm wet. Please."

I really didn't want to get out of bed, but at least she was remembering her manners this morning.

Emilia still wet the bed every night, and, if she took after me, she'd continue doing so for another five or six years. I knew she wouldn't stop bothering me unless I got her cleaned up. I begrudgingly slipped out of bed and winced as I turned our bedroom light on. Much too bright for this early in the morning. I straightened out my covers to make room for the changing mat and Emilia crawled up onto it. I pulled her pink and blue Elsa nightgown up above her waist to reveal a soggy diaper. We still used diapers at night for her because the potty-training pull-ups would leak, and she wasn't big enough yet to fit into the nighttime pull-ups that I had once worn as a bedwetter myself.

I made quick work of the diaper change. I was tired and wanted nothing more than to get back into bed. But when I was done changing Emilia, she didn't go back to her crib.

"Please," she said. "Can I sleep with you?"

That's another bad habit she's been getting into. I swear, it's been nearly every other night when I'd woken up to find her in my bed cuddling next to me unannounced. I give Emilia a stern look, hoping to dissuade her.

"But please. I had a scary dream."

I relent. I'd get back to sleep quicker if I just let Emilia into my bed than if I spent the next ten minutes arguing with her. And if we make too much noise, we'd wake up Mom and that was just asking for trouble. I gave Emilia a clean pacifier, lifted up the covers, and let her crawl in. I slipped into bed and cuddled behind her. I was asleep again before I knew it.

Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz.

Ahh. Really. I slammed my hand against the alarm clock to put it into snooze. While I was wide-eyed and awake, Emilia was still asleep in bed. The pacifier wasn't in her mouth anymore. It must have fallen behind the bed. I reached under Emilia's nightgown to feel her diaper. Wet again. Not much, but still, how much could one kid pee at night anyway? I decided to let her sleep some more, while I hopped in the shower.

Emilia looked to still be fast asleep when I returned to the bedroom. Good. I always preferred dressing while she was asleep. Now, what to wear, what to wear. My options were pretty limited, considering the large stack of laundry that I had put off doing. Mom always makes me do my own laundry, and I'll admit that I'd been procrastinating on it. I'm not much of a girly girl. Jeans paired with a hoodie or a t-shirt were my normal style. I grabbed an unused Fortnite hoodie from a closet hanger and checked the jeans I had worn yesterday. No stains, so I could get away with wearing them again.

That was another thing I was dreading about cheer-leading. The outfit for that – a mini-skirt and short-cut top – was just not my style. I didn't care for the idea of accidentally exposing my panties to anyone. Well, I'd just have to see how that new outfit looks on me later today. Coach said she'd have a uniform all set to go after school. I packed my gym bag with a pair of shorts and a t-shirt for practice, and made a mental note to make sure to grab a water bottle from the kitchen before getting on the bus.