The Morning Breaks

There is a lovely song that says, "The morning breaks, the shadows flee."  What time of day is the best for you?  I have always been jealous of "morning people."  You know, those people who wake up enthused at the possibility of a new day and race right into it.

I don't get up really early, but I do enjoy the freshness of a new day.  I usually get up at the crack of 9 a.m.  I'm retired so if I want to, I can go back to bed and nap.  When I awaken to a blizzard raging outside, I am grateful that I don't have to battle those elements.  Sometimes I go back to sleep and awaken after the blizzard.

I did work from 8 to 5 for over 30 years.  Those days I awakened (or rather my body moved like a zombie) at 6:30 a.m.  This was especially difficult since I still didn't get to sleep until midnight or 2 a.m.

Nyle, Ardis, and I really had a good thing going.  All of us were nocturnal in varying degrees.  If Nyle and I couldn't sleep at night we'd get up at 2 or 3 or 4 in the morning.  We'd wake little Ardis up, change her, and take her with us on our middle of the night fun.  Sometimes we'd get breakfast, other times we'd explore, little roads that we had not yet traveled, or perhaps a 4 wheel trip.  "Rough roads," is what our darling oldest called them.

THEN CAME SARAH!  At first I actually wondered if the dear Lord had given us the wrong child!  A MORNING PERSON?  IN OUR HOME?  She would awaken between 6 and 8 am every single morning.  It didn't matter when she went to sleep...her internal alarm would awaken her and she was ready to live!

When she was a toddler that could speak she would toddle in to our bedroom.  "I want to play!"

Ardis was still sleeping.  Nyle was still sleeping.  Sarah wanted ME to get up with her.  I would stagger to the TV and turn it on for her.  Then she'd say these immortal words, "I want YOU to play with me!"  These fateful words precluded any further attempts at escaping back into dreamland.

In college, Ardis scheduled her classes (at least when she could) at the civilized hour of 9 a.m. or later.  Not Sarah.  Even though Sarah went to school in Rexburg, Idaho (which we used to call ICEBURG Idaho.  The phrase explains a little about the winter weather), she would get up and walk a mile or two to get to her class at 7:45.  She took classes early ON PURPOSE!  She said, "I like to get up and start my day early.

Again, I repeat, if I did not witness that our beloved girl was born of me...I sometimes might wonder.  She now teaches school at a school that is far away from our home.  This necessitates a long commute night and morning.  Each evening at 9:30 or 10:00 she is snuggled into her bed, and then asleep quickly.  (Not nocturnal)

Ardis and I are up until around midnight usually.  I often stay up until 2 and sometimes more like 4.  If our dear Nyle were still on earth with us he would be sound asleep by at least 10 A.M.!  He was the most nocturnal of us all.  Often he would awaken me at 4 a.m.  He would want to share some wonderful idea, or discovery that he had found.  Once he awakened me to watch TELETUBBIES!  I watched....and he fell asleep. 

Since his death I awaken many times at 4:00 a.m.  Apparently Nyle still has wondrous things to share with me.  Now I believe the wonder he wants to share is the beauty of the quiet world at 4 a.m.  Of course, if I'm awake, our cute little doggy absolutely MUST get up and go outside.  The amazing beauty of 4 a.m. in this place and space is very powerful.  AND THEN...I go back and climb into my warm, cozy bed, and go back to sleep!