Rise and Shine!

"If you wake your friend in the early morning by shouting "Rise and Shine!"
It will sound to him, more like a curse than a blessing."   Proverbs 27:14

Although I know the body and mind needs time to regenerate and rest, sleep often seems like such a waste of time when there are books to be read, projects to be made, dreams and thoughts to ponder.

BUT.  In spite of my lack of desire to sleep, getting up in the morning is horrible!  I've been grumpy, non-communicative, incoherent, and just plain mean!  Sadly, Les' feelings were hurt many times in our first years of marriage before he learned to let me wander around blearily for about 30 minutes before attempting a conversation.  He (annoyingly!) bounces out of bed, cheerful, wide awake and ready to go.  He also (annoyingly) drops off to sleep easily and doesn't want to participate in my late night planning for the future sessions and doesn't like the light on while I read in bed.

I have found though, that as I have (ahem) matured, I resent going to sleep and getting up in the morning less.  In fact, I often get up before my alarm because I really love the early morning quiet.

An early rising neighbor across the street north of us has a round window that is perhaps in a bathroom.  When I let the dog out, I can see the round, yellow light shining through the foliage and every morning, for just an instant, in spite of it's placement, I think it is the moon!

As I sit reading my devotional and eating breakfast, I am soothed by the quiet early morning sounds of my house--Daisy's toenails on the floor, her tags jingling as she shakes off nighttime stiffness, the hum of the refrigerator, the thump when Patch jumps onto the dryer for breakfast, the gurgle of the coffeemaker. 

I can stare out the kitchen window to my heart's content, admiring the dawn and hearing the bird's song increase in volume as the sun climbs in the east. My mind and body slowly awake in this time where no one requires anything of me. 

By the time my family is up, my mind is in gear and I can speak in coherent sentences.  I might even be the one who is annoyingly cheerful on occasion now!