The campground is dark and sleeping, the birds are chirping, there’s a glorious smell of fresh brewed coffee, and I get to sit in the silence with my puppy curled up and snoring quietly beside me. On occasion I stay up too late the night before and oversleep, but if you ask anyone around here, you’ll know I’m one of the first ones to head in for the night. I love to quietly patter through the camper picking up, putting away, settling in after a day of fresh air, friends and sunshine.
And yes, I set my alarm for 4:20 a.m. every morning on the weekend. Shhhhhh - that is one of my little lake secrets though, so don’t tell anyone… They say nothing good happens after midnight… but I’ll tell you that amazing, magical things can happen at 5:00 a.m. if you let it.
Shall I read, shall I do my devotions, shall I write, shall I look at all the photos I took yesterday, shall I go back to bed and sleep a while? Hmmmmm… the entire day is at hand, mine for the taking, mine for the making. Most mornings I do a little of everything, but no matter what - I try to make sure I’m intentionally finding space to create this magical me time every weekend. It’s one that can easily slip by in a quick blink if I don’t purposely find it, take it, hold on to it.
Much of my life I have intentionally gotten up early. When I was nineteen years old, I was freshly graduated and married, just starting my first real full time employment in corporate america as a graphic artist. I distinctly remember reading through one of the companies monthly newsletters and there was a small little quote down in one of the corners something along the lines of “Did you know if you get up one hour earlier every day, you will be giving yourself an extra two weeks of life a year…” I’m fairly certain I was already predestined to be a morning person long before then, but I do find it interesting how impactful that little statement was in setting the initial intentionality of my young adult mindset.
In my twenties I was almost always out in the early morning exercising, mostly walking, maybe a little running, but always outside in the dark. I didn’t own any exercise equipment back then. In my thirties, there were many nights we were up for hours with a distraught little one, and in my thirties I was also back up and working every single morning 24/7 by 3:00 a.m. I was a full time stay at home - work from home custom cake decorator, and while I worked around the clock, I did find I was able to get more done between 3am - 6am than I was the entire rest of the day put together.
And then I entered my forties… I was technically still a custom cake decorator, I was also transitioning back into working full time out of the house, so my early morning cake hours were crucial, and then I found myself sick as a dog and entirely unable to get out of bed and do anything productive for months. Like, I was in bed all day. I would find out I was pregnant with a child filled with sickness, which in turn filled me with sickness. It took me a year and a half to finally recover physically from that illness. It will take me a lifetime to continue to recover from it mentally and spiritually. But that moment in my life was utterly life altering in so many ways. That was the only season in my adult life that I was not able to get up early. I was basically not able to function the entire day, and truth be told, I really had no desire to even live. It was hard, it was devastating. I not only lost a child during that season, I lost a lot of myself, my identity, my rootedness, my passion, my drive, my focus, and my desire during that time.
I’m currently about nine months back into my intentionally getting up and at it early morning at home again as well. I found it surprisingly difficult to transition back into getting up and embracing that early morning alarm again. It took months before I was finally fully back into the habit and mindset.
In different seasons I have used my early morning to accomplish different things. This current season has been my time to start my day with loving my body. In the silence while my family sleeps I exercise. I treadmill or I elliptical, I am busy training both my mind and my body for a another half marathon in October. I try eat my breakfast, drink my coffee, take the time to shower and put myself all together before I face the world. I’m spending a little more time choosing what I’m going to wear, a little more time on makeup and accessories. Not a lot… I’m not obsessive by any means, but enough time to say - hey, I’m worth it. I’m worth the extra ten minutes a day to look great on the inside and try match the feeling of great on the inside I’m also diligently working on.
I think for me, the greatest draw to early morning is the silence. The tv isn’t on. The radio isn’t on. There’s (usually) no one else up. There’s no talking, no other interaction except between me and myself and me and God. It’s my me time, my soul care time, my time to set the foundation for the rest of the day. The dawn wakes, the sky is often painted a vibrant hue of pinks and purples, and the world yawns and slowly brightens.
In the blink of an eye that moment, that slowness and that magic often just vanishes. The kids and hubs are up and often grumpy, the lights are all turned on, the dog is barking to go out, the tv gets turned on, the spelling words come out, and the chaos of the day enters with its loud booming hello.
And yes, I set my alarm for 4:20 a.m. every morning on the weekend. Shhhhhh - that is one of my little lake secrets though, so don’t tell anyone… They say nothing good happens after midnight… but I’ll tell you that amazing, magical things can happen at 5:00 a.m. if you let it.
Shall I read, shall I do my devotions, shall I write, shall I look at all the photos I took yesterday, shall I go back to bed and sleep a while? Hmmmmm… the entire day is at hand, mine for the taking, mine for the making. Most mornings I do a little of everything, but no matter what - I try to make sure I’m intentionally finding space to create this magical me time every weekend. It’s one that can easily slip by in a quick blink if I don’t purposely find it, take it, hold on to it.
Much of my life I have intentionally gotten up early. When I was nineteen years old, I was freshly graduated and married, just starting my first real full time employment in corporate america as a graphic artist. I distinctly remember reading through one of the companies monthly newsletters and there was a small little quote down in one of the corners something along the lines of “Did you know if you get up one hour earlier every day, you will be giving yourself an extra two weeks of life a year…” I’m fairly certain I was already predestined to be a morning person long before then, but I do find it interesting how impactful that little statement was in setting the initial intentionality of my young adult mindset.
In my twenties I was almost always out in the early morning exercising, mostly walking, maybe a little running, but always outside in the dark. I didn’t own any exercise equipment back then. In my thirties, there were many nights we were up for hours with a distraught little one, and in my thirties I was also back up and working every single morning 24/7 by 3:00 a.m. I was a full time stay at home - work from home custom cake decorator, and while I worked around the clock, I did find I was able to get more done between 3am - 6am than I was the entire rest of the day put together.
And then I entered my forties… I was technically still a custom cake decorator, I was also transitioning back into working full time out of the house, so my early morning cake hours were crucial, and then I found myself sick as a dog and entirely unable to get out of bed and do anything productive for months. Like, I was in bed all day. I would find out I was pregnant with a child filled with sickness, which in turn filled me with sickness. It took me a year and a half to finally recover physically from that illness. It will take me a lifetime to continue to recover from it mentally and spiritually. But that moment in my life was utterly life altering in so many ways. That was the only season in my adult life that I was not able to get up early. I was basically not able to function the entire day, and truth be told, I really had no desire to even live. It was hard, it was devastating. I not only lost a child during that season, I lost a lot of myself, my identity, my rootedness, my passion, my drive, my focus, and my desire during that time.
I’m currently about nine months back into my intentionally getting up and at it early morning at home again as well. I found it surprisingly difficult to transition back into getting up and embracing that early morning alarm again. It took months before I was finally fully back into the habit and mindset.
In different seasons I have used my early morning to accomplish different things. This current season has been my time to start my day with loving my body. In the silence while my family sleeps I exercise. I treadmill or I elliptical, I am busy training both my mind and my body for a another half marathon in October. I try eat my breakfast, drink my coffee, take the time to shower and put myself all together before I face the world. I’m spending a little more time choosing what I’m going to wear, a little more time on makeup and accessories. Not a lot… I’m not obsessive by any means, but enough time to say - hey, I’m worth it. I’m worth the extra ten minutes a day to look great on the inside and try match the feeling of great on the inside I’m also diligently working on.
I think for me, the greatest draw to early morning is the silence. The tv isn’t on. The radio isn’t on. There’s (usually) no one else up. There’s no talking, no other interaction except between me and myself and me and God. It’s my me time, my soul care time, my time to set the foundation for the rest of the day. The dawn wakes, the sky is often painted a vibrant hue of pinks and purples, and the world yawns and slowly brightens.
In the blink of an eye that moment, that slowness and that magic often just vanishes. The kids and hubs are up and often grumpy, the lights are all turned on, the dog is barking to go out, the tv gets turned on, the spelling words come out, and the chaos of the day enters with its loud booming hello.
I take a deep breath and just step into it, I have no choice but to tiptoe into the mess and the chaos and smile.
I try hang on the thoughts of those purples of the sunrise I watched in the east, I think of the miles logged on my machines in the basement, I think of the words I wrote or read, I think of the water that cleansed the sweat from my pores, I think of the coffee and fruit and granola that filled me with energy and nutrients for the day.
That’s in essence what silence is for me, those magic moments of dawn… It is the simple thing that fills me with the energy, nutrients, and memories needed to try set me up to successfully get me through the chaos of the day ahead.
Granted, some days are much more successful than others. But after twenty five years of navigating adulthood, I simply find it a personal basic life principal. I have come to recognize I both need and long for that pre-dawn foundation, so it is something I intentionally try carve out and give myself.
So, if I do the math… in essence I am giving myself an extra TWO hours of life a day, which comes out to an extra FOUR weeks of life I get to live, which technically gives me a THIRTEEN month year to live in… And we all know how I honestly LOVE the number 13… I always have, I always will. A whole month of magical moments at dawn. That just has a great little ring to it doesn’t it?!?
When is your magical moments each day? I realize not everyone is a morning person, or everyone has the luxury to get up early or stay up late… but if you aren’t already carving at least a few minutes of “me time” for yourself each day… may I just encourage you to stop, to slow, to evaluate and to find those moments.
I try hang on the thoughts of those purples of the sunrise I watched in the east, I think of the miles logged on my machines in the basement, I think of the words I wrote or read, I think of the water that cleansed the sweat from my pores, I think of the coffee and fruit and granola that filled me with energy and nutrients for the day.
That’s in essence what silence is for me, those magic moments of dawn… It is the simple thing that fills me with the energy, nutrients, and memories needed to try set me up to successfully get me through the chaos of the day ahead.
Granted, some days are much more successful than others. But after twenty five years of navigating adulthood, I simply find it a personal basic life principal. I have come to recognize I both need and long for that pre-dawn foundation, so it is something I intentionally try carve out and give myself.
So, if I do the math… in essence I am giving myself an extra TWO hours of life a day, which comes out to an extra FOUR weeks of life I get to live, which technically gives me a THIRTEEN month year to live in… And we all know how I honestly LOVE the number 13… I always have, I always will. A whole month of magical moments at dawn. That just has a great little ring to it doesn’t it?!?
When is your magical moments each day? I realize not everyone is a morning person, or everyone has the luxury to get up early or stay up late… but if you aren’t already carving at least a few minutes of “me time” for yourself each day… may I just encourage you to stop, to slow, to evaluate and to find those moments.
Intentionally find and carve out those necessary minutes each day to help root yourself within yourself. You are worth it and worthy of the immeasurable greatness you're guaranteed to find during the gift of giving yourself those magical moments.
{ Next blog post "Happy Mother's Day Mom" HERE }
( Previous blog post "Half Marathon Runner" HERE }
{ Next blog post "Happy Mother's Day Mom" HERE }
( Previous blog post "Half Marathon Runner" HERE }
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