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Early Morning is 'Me' Time

This is my backyard. If I would have slept in, I would have missed this beautiful moment in time. 

4:15am. That is what time my body said, "wake up!" 

Really? 

On a Sunday?

(I don't know if I should blame the morning sun. I am living in Alaska after all.)

In all honesty, I need to show my gratitude for this. My body is naturally wired to being alert in the early hours, as opposed to after 8pm. Since my husband is three hours ahead of me right now, I knew I could talk to him without it being insanely early for him. Hearing his voice was very therapeutic because while I still wanted to sleep, I didn't feel tired nor did I feel like getting up and being productive.  Productivity can begin after 5:30.

But why would anyone in her right mind be grateful for waking up early? Here are my reasons:

1). The rest of the world is quiet. So I can hear myself think and ponder. Reading, studying, and praying in the early morning is more productive for me because I haven't been pulled in a million directions yet by the things of life. I was able to prepare my nursery lesson and actually color the pictures for the game, instead of just throwing something together at the last minute. 

2). The morning sun is so promising. There really is nothing quite like the morning sun shining bright. It reminds me that it is a new day. A new day to begin again! Yesterday is gone and tomorrow is not yet here, but today is beautiful. This morning sun adds to my ability to ponder and reflect more clearly.  

From the back side of the lake. Fairbanks is gorgeous in the summer!
3). Nature and animals wake up with the sun. I remember when I was six and spent Christmas in Guam. There was a loud parrot in the front lobby of the hotel we were staying at, and the owners would take off its blanket from the cage at sunrise. That parrot was our alarm clock and it was pretty obnoxious. The only way to mitigate the annoyance of loud morning animals is to wake up with them.  It also makes morning walks so much more comical. Today I heard squirrels and birds just making all kinds of noises during my walk. You often miss this when the rest of the world wakes up and starts making noise.

4). I have more time! Seriously. I love to get a handful of things done, yet still have time to think and ponder, read and pray, prepare for the day's activities, and do yoga!  When I sleep in, I often don't have time to do yoga because I have to attend to my duties. Time is such a precious commodity. 

While I wouldn't ask to wake up at 4:15am every morning, I did enjoy the time I had for myself this morning. 

Now I think it is time for a nap. :) 

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