Sunrise...

* Inspired by Darla Royal (almost a month ago...sorry it took so long)

Yes...I am a morning person. The older I get, the more 'morninger' I become. I am one of these people who gets up when they wake up. Ususally I get up a few moments after I wake up. I take a quick assessment of my self, evaluate how I slept and decide whether or not to get out of bed. My usual length of sleep is around 6-7 hours. Sometimes I really wish I could sleep a bit more but I have learned not to force sleep on myself and have found out that it will come when it comes.

I enjoy the quiet of the early morning. The world has not totally woken up yet and I really do not like the world to intrude into my solitude until I am ready to let it in. I sometimes can get a few chores done in the quiet of the moment, feed/mess with the cat and get the newspaper from the front lawn. Sometimes I get up so early I beat the paperperson to the throw.

To step outside in the early morning is sooo cool, regardless of the season, though I admit that I really enjoy a cold, crisp winter's morning. I often stop on the front sidewalk and enjoy the show that the heavens put on. So early in the morning, especially on a cold night just after a day of strong winds out of the north, the sky is crystal clear, the stars sparkle, the planets shine so bright and the expanse of the sky seems to be a dark blue rather than your traditional black. It's almost as if you can see forever. And, sometimes I feel as though I am exposed. With the daytime blue gone, knowing what is really out there but not seen, it is almost as though I am being looked at. It is a time when I can truly marvel at God's handiwork and wonder what it is like to see it up close.

To watch the sun come up is awesome. I have done this from my bed, the living room, the backyard, on the road... But my favorite time that I did so was in the mountains of southeastern New Mexico. I had gone on a camping trip one summer with our Boy Scout troop to a national camp area outside of Ruidoso. I could not sleep that night. Just one of those nights when my mind would not shut down. While the others around my snozzed, I sat on a cooler and watched the stars rotate around the sky and meteors slide by. Finally, around 3:00 am, there was a faint glow in the eastern sky. It was so faint that I almost did not notice it until it was very obvious. I sat there for about three hours as the hue of the morning grew brighter and brighter. The stars and planets began to fade and slowly disappear. As the colors of the morning began to creep across the sky, it was almost as if the heavens were slowly pulling a blanket up to put the night to bed for the day.

To get up early with the anticipation of the day is almost as if one says...

On your mark!

Get set!

And when the sun is finally fully up...

Go!