Pleasures of the morning

With a predicted high temperature today of 95--and humidity to match--we begin the doldrums of summer. In these parts we have two such periods during the year: the winter, when it's too cold and damp to do anything outside but run to get back inside, and the summer, when it's too hot to do anything but sit very still, if you have to be outside at all.

There are practical reasons why Steve and I have both developed into confirmed early risers. When I was working, I wanted to get on the roads and into town before the traffic became heavy and all the good parking places were gone. I was motivated by the strong belief that I wasn't put on this earth to sit in traffic. There were so many bonuses to the scheme that I quickly grew to believe it was the only way to go: getting to the office early meant an hour or so of quiet time to get busy work done or to plan calmly and thoroughly for anything big that might be happening during the day. And I was free to end my day early, as well. That was made easier by the fact that all the countries I worked with were 4 or 5 hours ahead of us--their offices closed down around noon our time, so the only thing that might keep me in the office late was the rare end-of-day meeting. Steve has the same attitude towards traffic, quiet time, and offices in general, and is as committed to getting up early as I am.

An early start during these summer doldrum days is essential to getting anything productive done outside. Gardening chores are dirty and sweaty and they're not made any more enjoyable by putting them off to "later." My morning walks are made bearable by the time of day they take place. Even at 5 this morning the temperature was 75 degrees. If I waited until the sun came up the heat would slow me down and I'd be breathing rush hour fumes. Not healthy.

So what started out as a practical discipline has become a favored way of living. If I sleep past seven now, I feel as though I'm missing the best part of the day: the quiet, the sunrise, the free time to allow my mind to wander and gently rest before the concerns of the day take over. I admit it's a little harder to do in the dead of winter, when the warm covers grip tightly and the sun doesn't even rise until late in the morning. But I break the covers' hold and climb out of bed, sure in the knowledge that the day contains the same 24 hours no matter the time of year. I love sleeping, but only because a good sleep makes being awake so enjoyable.