Early Morning Perks

Alright, fine. So maybe there are some advantages to getting up early in the morning.

Until now, I'd never found them. I mean, there'd be the occasional delight in feeling the crisp air as I got the paper. Or in hearing the cacophony of birds singing their praises for the morning light. Or in the quiet of the house while everyone else lay still.

But those were short-lived. They were like little unexpected treats. Ah-this-is-nice-but-not-nice-enough-to-wrangle-myself-up-early-EVERY-morning-nosiree-bob kinda perks.

So imagine my surprise when 4-1/2 weeks in (who's counting, though) I find myself not only getting up every morning at 5:45 without fail, but getting up every morning at 5:45 without grumbling under my breath about the unfairness of rising at such an inhumane, brutally early time; and without running into walls on my way to the bathroom, uttering a litany of not-very-nice-words as I rub my sore head; and without - believe it or not - feeling very tired at all throughout the day.

Go figure.

Who is this person and what did she do with my night owl?

Could it be that my hormones are at some morning-conducive level? (And if so, whyintheh*ll didn't I figure this out sooner?)

Could it be because I'm getting up for Brady and not for myself?

Could it be that I don't, in fact, need 9 full hours of sleep as I previously believed with all the fervor of a true lounge lizard?

I don't know what it is.

But beyond being fine (read: not deliriously exhausted and dragging and grumpy all day), I'm even being productive. (egad!) I'm vacuuming the entire main floor and doing 3 loads of laundry, all before 7am. I'm cooking the evening's dinner, watering my flowers, and exercising for an hour, all before Jonathan wakes. I'm having coffee with mom at 7am on some days and heading to the gym at 6:45am on others and walking around with loads of folded clothes going, "I'm not tired! Hot d*mn, I'm really not tired!"

And each morning as I drive Brady to the carpooling spot, I start to notice how incredibly lovely the early morning is. The low-lying fog in the fields. The cows heading out to graze. The moon still keeping watch as the sun rises over the eastern horizon.

And it took me a while (well, 4-1/2 weeks to be exact) to realize I should take my camera along on these early morning jaunts.

So now I stop on occasion. To marvel at this:

And this:

And gaze upon this:

And I happily start each morning with this view, as I idle in the drive waiting for Brady to grab one last thing.

What a nice way to start my mornings.

And we're off.