mornings – Long walks and dark chocolate

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The Daily Prompt was “Just Another Day” -Our days are organized around numerous small actions we repeat over and over. What’s your favorite daily ritual?

I wrote a very similar post in A Perfect Morning last year but since I’m in the mood to write, I thought why not?

My days are very organized and sometimes I think too much so, but then something unplanned comes along and it really does seem to throw my whole day off and I long for my routines. I have tried repeatedly over the years to get over this and be more spontaneous. Although I am definitely better, I’m not cured by any means. I wonder if the lack of spontaneity and love of structure and routine are also a result of growing older and more set in my ways.

My favorite daily rituals take place the first hour of the morning. Many mornings I get up even earlier than necessary to enjoy the solitude before the dawn breaks. When I travel, I miss my mornings at home and my chair where a heating pad is tucked discreetly under a blanket thrown across the back.

At home, nothing changes much in the way my mornings go. I stumble out of bed to the bathroom and after my teeth are brushed I go to the kitchen, make a cup of coffee and go straight to my favorite chair. A few sips of coffee are already warming my innards and I place my cup on a beautiful little coaster given to me by a friend. I usually pray first, then read my bible and then try to just be quiet, and still and listen. Often, God speaks to my heart in these precious moments, or He speaks through His Word and I reflect on what I feel I am to receive as spiritual nourishment for my day. I know from years of experience how much strength and peace this infuses my spirit with. I can also feel the difference on the days I oversleep or something happens and I don’t take that time.

When I’m in my chair, listening to the sounds of all God’s creatures waking up, it seems that much too soon it’s time to start work or go about the rest of my daily business or chores. But, if I’ve started my day out right, I can embrace the day filled with hope and peace.

Up and at em’ (or not)

You cannot be a morning person AND a night owl. You are either one or the other and the sooner you find out which it is and embrace it, the happier you will be!

When I was a child, I tried desperately to hang out with the night owls. Although I must admit, this was frequently because I didn’t want to go into the dark scary room without my sister (who is younger than me) to protect me. More often than not, because she has a heart the size of Texas, she would give up her fun and go to bed so I could get to sleep. (We’re talking weekends and summers of course; we had a strict bedtime on school nights, which I was deeply thankful for) If nature called, she would also wake up and escort me through the door, not knowing what was on the other side, mind you! Then, it was down the dark hall to the potentially murderer infested bathroom.

My brother and sister could stay up late and watch Creature Feature and then sleep as long as mom let them on Saturday. We won’t even get into my hatred for Creature Feature. Me, I was up with the birds on Saturday morning, ready to start my day. My mom was also a morning person, so she and I were often the first ones up, which did give us some precious time together.

As childhood faded away, and the years of dating and driving arrived, I still savored my 10pm bedtime. It was no problem for me to make my curfew because I was getting tired anyway. Unfortunately, half the time I would arrive home to be told to go back out and find my sister, who wasn’t so good about hers.

This isn’t to say I didn’t have my late nights out on the rare occasion but I can tell you, I was probably fantasizing about my bed sometime around 10:30 or 11:00pm. If I was out and about after that, there was something pretty important going on, or I was just following the crowd. Can I say again how glad I am that the older you get, you don’t care about all that anymore? I saw someone complaining once (after 10pm) about not being able to go out – I was shocked; I don’t understand those people.

Nowadays, I am usually up by 5:30 on weekdays and 7:00 is about the latest I can ever sleep in, unless I am ill. My husband and my youngest are not morning people. I am pretty sure that I irritate them every morning, not only with the noise but with my sunshiny disposition most mornings. This is post coffee, of course, I will offer that. They really hate it when I want to talk (a lot) as soon as they get out of bed.

On the other hand, I get annoyed when they beg me to stay up late with them and watch a movie; they start getting drinks and snacks, when my digestive system is long done for the day. They “come alive” when I’m winding down.

So as their eyeballs seem to open wider and they hoot with the oncoming night, I find myself checking out and nodding off. But come morning, my eyes will pop open and welcome another glorious day, glad to be alive and up to see the sun rise, to start my day the right way, as it should be, wide awake, eyes wide open.

And for my fellow morning people, just in case you really want to watch and sing along I have attached one of my favorites to sing in the morning.

Aren’t you glad we aren’t carbon copies of one another? Where would the fun be in that? And now for some of my favorite quotes….

Lose an hour in the morning, and you will be all day hunting for it. ~Richard Whately

I’ll tell you how the sun rose a ribbon at a time. ~Emily Dickinson

Morning is when the wick is lit. A flame ignited, the day delighted with heat and light, we start the fight for something more than before. ~Jeb Dickerson