[ stating the obvious ]

Mornings are hateful things. They arrive too early, for starters, all bright-eyed and bushytailed and at the crack of dawn. You, meanwhile, can barely open your crusty, sleepy eyes, but when you do, surprise! It’s a fresh start, brand new adventures await. Enthusiasm and endorphins flood your brain and you feel like a twelve-year old again. Until you stand up and the endorphins flee, causing every joint, from ankle to ears, to scream at you to lie back down. Morning, you see, is an elaborate April Fool’s prank and I fall for it every time. 

I’ve never been much of a morning person, frankly. Nights are more to my liking. They’re soothing, low stress affairs, a gentle reward for surviving the day. Mornings, by comparison, are drill sergeants, forcing you to do things you don’t want to do. Grown-up things. And in double-time. Walk the dog. Feed the dog. Make coffee. Shower, shampoo, put on big girl clothes. That’s a minimum of two hours, gone, right there.

At this point in life, I’ve become very selfish with my time. I guard it with a vengeance and refuse to waste it on pointless nonsense. Time is a finite resource and needs to be invested wisely, in things you like doing, with people you enjoy, and in happy places. Money, meh, that can be replaced. Time? No, that’s irreplaceable. To quote Bonnie Raitt:

‘Time gets mighty precious when there’s less of it to waste.’

When I was young and indestructible, however, time was plentiful. So I dawdled and I — gasp —smoked. Sure, it’s a dirty habit. It smells awful, too. And, yes, it’ll kill you. But you know what? Smoking made mornings almost welcome, because with morning came the promise of that first cigarette. And, oh, what a joy those minutes were. They were an island of contentment, a chance to untether my mind and let it float free for a few lovely, unencumbered moments.

I guess, the point I’m trying to make is, give yourself some space. Log off. Carve out some time to board a flight of fancy now and then, see where it takes you. Life’s a journey, right? So grab a window seat and have fun. You deserve it!

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