Early mornings.

At the beginning of the semester, we’ve were both surprised (and grateful) to each have just the right job fall in our laps. We couldn’t have asked for a better situation—Andrew gets to work off-campus doing what he loves, and I get to work on-campus doing what I love. Since then, every Tuesday and Thursday we would peel our eyes open at 6am—throw some clothes on, Andrew would drop me off at my office and he would start the two-hour trek to his tree-climbing, arborist sort of job. This was reasonable—though since Daylight savings we are now rising at the ungodly hour of 5am—(it’s still dark, mind you!) and I now sip on my coffee with bloodshot eyes as I sort my e-mails. I write all of this because as much as I have appreciated the thought of early morning—a good start to the day—I have never been a morning person. There have been times in my life in which I was required to be one, but not necessarily out of choice. For the last 6 years I’ve been in the restaurant business, mostly as a server—requiring late hours and therefore late mornings. It has become my lifestyle habit. 

Andrew and I laugh in recollection of our morning conversations or lack thereof, it typically goes in the order of Andrew (who is literally wide awake as soon as his eyelids open) singing an off-pitch tune, tickling me (I hate being tickled—but as long as we avoid the feet, I’m ok), pushing me off the bed, and then flicking the bright lights on and telling me that I’m “grumpy in the mornings.” 

As much as I love those moments that are at the time, irritating. Recently, I have been finding the solace in rising even earlier to sit with my favorite mug steaming with flavored coffee, wrapped up in a cozy blanket, not bothering to look in the mirror just yet—disregarding the bed head piled up on top, or to care about the to-do list—it is my personal bubble of time, complete silence, time to pray, to be with God—to put off the worries of the day, even before they happen. Not to mention the feeling of being even more prepared and ready for the day acts as icing on the cake. My college buddies sort of laugh or look at me weird when I say I’m in bed by 10:30 at the latest—my dorm life days were drastically different—but I’m thankful for the much needed rest, the ability to wake up early and start my day well. I think it is a gift from God—the early morning that is—the uninteruppted time with him, R&R for the soul, and a readiness for the day that you just don’t get in waking up after pushing the snooze button 5 times and realizing you’ll be late if you don’t throw some clothes on now and run! 

It’s been a slow adjustment, and I still don’t immediately wake and love the fact of waking up. But once I’m up—I’m so thankful for those peaceful early mornings. The sunrise, the mist, the dew (now the frost), the slight chill, and the freshness of it all—a day with no mistakes in it, or so Anne Shirley used to say. And if you’re really on top of it—you can even get some quality Pinterest time to boot. God, coffee, quiet, sunrise, Pinterest—how could one resist?