Morning Person

For as long as I can remember I've been a morning person. There was a brief stint in college (isn't there always?) and when I first started sharing a bed with Tech Support where I would sleep in (modestly though, I could never sleep in past 10am), but eventually I always reverted back.

Mind you, I'm not one of those militant morning people who wake up at 5:30am and go for a 30 mile jog to get me started. Generally I wake up at 7am, roll groggily out of bed trying not to disturb Tech Support, and start the day in some mellow manner. Occasionally (like this morning for example) I wake up at 6am, and sometimes I sleep in until 8am.

As a morning person I find I have always been regarded with some suspicion. I remember in High School classmates frequently being rather appalled "You don't sleep in?" They'd remark, aghast at my poor taste. It wasn't that I didn't sleep in it's that I couldn't sleep in. Never have figured it out. It's not for lack of trying. I lay there and try desperately to think sleepy thoughts, remind myself that I stayed up until 2am so there is no reason I shouldn't be sleepy right now, and proceed to lay there quite awake and ready to go about my day. Admittedly, the hungry cats aren't much help either, they're morning kitties I think.

The truth is though, that I like the morning. Far more than I like the night. While it would be easy to fall into the trap of explaining why I dislike night, let me attempt to elucidate why it is that I like morning.

It's quiet in the morning. The kind of quiet where even my ears can hear the soft noises in the distance, like the gentle roar of the ocean. Everything feels fresh in the morning. The dew from the night makes the scent of the soil, and even the asphalt, gently reach my nose.

I like the sunrise, bringing light once more to my little spot of the world. Sometimes it only serves to brighten the morning fog rolling in and surrounding my little home like a cloud. On other mornings the sun shines brightly and gently warms the cool air.

The morning is about opportunity to me. There is a list of things that I am going to get done in a day, and the morning is the time to start. I have the whole day before me to succeed (or not) at my goals. Even if I have failed at my attempts the day before, with a good night of sleep the morning brings new possibilities, new angles, and a new chance.

And lastly, because I am anti-social and morning people are a rare breed, the morning brings solitude. Tech Support is still in bed, most people are still in bed, those who are awake clutch their coffee like a lifeline as they start off to work. My company in the morning is the (sometimes not-so-quiet) presence of my cats, the garden, the world without people. At risk of waxing poetic, in the solitude of the morning I feel closer to the Earth.

Good Morning.