So much of parenting comes down to routine. Having children change yours—dramatically. They have a wild routine of their own, and there are towers of parenting books on how to tame it.

Last week I was telling a friend how important routine was in my life. He felt the opposite—routine was suffocating, making everyday feel the same. We netted out on the benefit of "structure" as opposed to routine—something to put the scaffolding around our day, providing touchpoints that could help cement good habits without losing the freedom to let the day take us where it may.

As I've been stuck self-isolating here in this spare bedroom I've been thinking about these structures. So many of them come from starting the day in the right way. So today I wanted to ask "what does a great morning look like?" Let's assume the kid(s) will sleep until we want them to. When would you get up? What would you do to start the day? And what do you need to help make that great morning happen more often?