Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Early bird



It's not even 8:00 a.m. but I've been up for many hours; it feels like lunchtime. Though I haven't checked, I'd be willing to bet that the moon turned close to the moment I woke up. Oh that moon! But it's all over now.

Sometimes waking is like swimming up to the surface from the bottom of a deep ocean. At other times I wake up fully, suddenly, and without explanation, like this morning.

If I have a big day of work ahead I often try to soothe myself back to sleep. I'll play words with friends on the iphone for a little while, or scan the offerings on facebook. I did a little of that this morning but soon figured out there was no way I was going to get back to sleep. I was finished with prayer and meditation, and had had a cup of coffee, before 6:00 a.m.

Early morning is something I love when I wake up to it. Sunrise is so cheerful.

Back in the dawn of my adulthood I struggled desperately to be cool which, in my mind, included staying up as late as I could. Even though I always wanted to be in bed by ten, I saw many a sunrise after staying up all night. These early mornings were not happy experiences for me, nope. Even when I was twenty-one, eating oysters (which I hate, btw, but I thought were signs of coolness), drinking tiny cups of espresso that, in Kansas City in the early 1970s, was nothing to write home about, yes even then I was not a cool, groovy night owl. Seeing the dawn after staying up all night is an awful feeling for me. It means I will miss most of the day ahead. I know that much of the remorse I used to feel, seeing dawn after staying up all night, had to do with the detox involved in hangovers. Just as significant is the fact that I love a good night's sleep - at night, should say.

At fifty-nine I feel very secure with how not cool I truly am. It's not cool to wake early, to go to bed early, but that's how I roll. Oh well. I never touch oysters anymore and the espresso I drink these days is sublime, but I never drink it after noon, nope. After my birthday meltdown, I seem to have settled nicely into 59, into being exactly who I am right here and right now. Thank goodness!


Blurry but dramatic.

8 comments:

lacochran's evil twin said...

I love the juxtaposition of "Been a long time since I rock and roll" with the sunrise in that video. I NEVER think of Led Zeppelin at dawn.

X said...

I love the curtain of morning light on the dome.

jeanette from everton terrace said...

My favorite time of day. I have always been an early riser and just before the sun is perfect to me. I like to be outside with it, watching the world coming alive. I feel full of it all.
Really like your 2nd paragraph!

Reya Mellicker said...

Led zeppelin has been following me around for awhile - the music I mean, not the band. So weird! Hey Laura - nice to see you!

mouse (aka kimy) said...

we know what ol' ben franklin says about early to rise!

ah, that is why you are so wise....

wonderful morning capitol shot and that vid - wild!!! did you do it???

funny i would never have guessed that about zeppelin and you --- but then again one of their signature songs is stairway to heaven.....which for me does seem very reyaesque.

can't wait to see you!!!

Jo said...

Reya, only the über cool people throw trendiness out the window and do the opposite!

I find it super cool to be in tune with your body's own circadian rhythm and heed the call for sleep and wake when it best suits you.

I find myself becoming more of a night owl as I age. As a mother of four, I think I saw enough early mornings and sunrises to last me quite a while!

Reya Mellicker said...

Jo you're cool within any circadian rhythm!

Kerry said...

You were up so early. It was only 3AM here in Oregon by the time you finished your coffee.

I like the days when I actually can get up early, but they are rare. It is so cool to watch that sun come up; I can't believe I miss it on a daily basis.

That was Led Zeppelin? You see, I didn't even know that, but how funny! I would have picked something dumb and obvious like "Here Comes the Sun."