Morning Person I Am

I like mornings.  I just do.

I like the quiet, the calm, the peacefulness, the anticipation of a new day.

I remember when Gary and I were first married, we had hogs here in the hog house behind the barn.  One morning we were loading them up to take them somewhere, not sure where they were going.  Loading hogs is rarely successful with just one person doing it, so I was enlisted to help, and being somewhat newlyweds it seemed like a 'togetherness' type of thing too. I don't remember too much about actually loading the pigs onto the trailer or truck or whatever the mode of transportation was, but I do remember the morning.

That morning was so quiet (except for the squeals of the pigs).  The air was cool, even though the summer heat would take over in a few hours.  The sun was just starting to  peek above the horizon.  Birds were chirping (or as my dad would say "Churdies are burping") and the cats were slipping around, checking out the happenings in the back yard. I recalled mornings at Grandma's farm and how I loved those quiet times on the back porch, watching the day come alive.  Nothing is better than the quiet morning on the farm, and I was blessed to be a farmer's wife who could enjoy those mornings often.

When I was teaching at West Central, I liked being in my classroom early.  My best days began with coming into the building before Glenn clicked on the main lights in the hallways.  I liked the quiet. I liked the absence of people walking through the halls. I could accomplish so much in that hour or so before the building came alive.  In the last couple of years I would go through the morning paper to make a scavenger hunt for our newspaper activity or be sure I had the copies needed, double check the day's lesson plans, or catch up on grading.  When I saw Glenn walk past my room with the cup of coffee for Darla, I knew the atmosphere was about to change into the noisy clangs of lockers as the students grabbed books for their next classes.

Last year I started my day, four days a week, with either the drive to Rochester to teach the dual credit class or to Logansport to teach ENGL 111 to my regular Ivy Tech students.  I like routine, and each day I left at nearly the same time, usually around 7:15 or 7:30.  Listening to Shamus and Annie on K105 was always entertaining, and I could time my drive by the components of their morning show.  Birthdays on the drive to Pulaski.  Talking to the guy from Twin City Dodge between Winamac and Rochester or south of Royal Center. Battle of the Sexes as I was pulling into the parking lot at Ivy Tech.  Morning routine.  Great way to start the day, even the very busy Tuesdays and Thursdays when I taught three classes practically back to back. I still started with the quiet morning.

Today I am sitting in the recliner, watching the day begin.  I sat here for quite a while, not looking at my phone or iPad, not picking up my Nook to continue reading Eden Hill, just sitting in the quiet.  It is already 8:00 and the sun isn't up yet. (not sure whether the sun still exists because we haven't actually seen it for several days now).  There is still haze in the air; the security light is still bright.  As I look outside through the picture window, I see the skeletons of trees, still and silent.  No cardinals are fussing around the bird feeders yet.  The house is dark except for the glow of the window candles, the light of the clock on the microwave and the shine from the computer screen. No sounds except the furnace clicking on and the warm air escaping through the registers. Other days this week I have enjoyed this time for work on the OBS, but today is a catch up day with no new assignments.  Reflection on "I am the bread of life" has been on my mind.

Soon the move will be made to the kitchen for breakfast, to the bathroom for the morning shower/shampoo routine, and upstairs to select clothes for the day.  The sewing machine will appear on the dining room table.  The iron and ironing board will be placed next to the kitchen counter with the jug of distilled water ready to keep the steam going as I press seams.  Gray blocks (cut by Betty for me yesterday) will be sewn to the 9-patch squares and the quilt top will begin to take shape.  A trip to Krogers may happen later on, or it may wait until tomorrow after church.    The day will begin.  The television will be adding noise.  Meals will be prepared.  A drive to The Farm to move the trash can and check the house is on the agenda too. 

Then tomorrow----morning again.  Quiet.  Bliss.