Pictures for Pam, Day 31: Sunrise + 2 insets

(2 insets) (please view large!) :)

Ok, who out there is a night owl? Raise your hand! *bounces up and down, waving both hands* Wait a second. I'm not a night owl! At least, not anymore. I USED to be. I never wanted to go to bed, and 1-3am was the best time to be up and doing stuff. In my early 20's I would watch "The Love Boat" from 12am to 1am and then "The Big Valley" from 1am to 2am. I would go running at 1 in the morning through our hilly San Francisco neighborhood, and loved the peace and serenity of the fog swirling around me. I liked to say that I was protected by the "cloak of darkness" and shrouded by the thick fog. I now look back at those days and shudder, especially my running at night.

When Steve and I met back in 2000, we were delighted to share our love of the night. We were always pushing our bedtime and it wasn't uncommon to stay up until 4 in the morning on the weekends. We'd drag our tired bones into work on Monday morning, sorely regretting our bad decisions but funny enough, when Friday rolled around we were happily staying up until 4am again! Oh brother.

Moving up to Oregon finally forced a change in our behavior. The jobs we had required getting up very early—in fact, poor Steve had to get up at 6am so I couldn't even complain about my 7am wakeup. To make matters worse, our bodies weren't as resilient as they once were and if we stayed up too late, boy did we regret it the next day.

However, I began to notice that as long as I got a reasonable night's sleep, getting up earlier was actually quite nice! And, as time went on, I had to admit that as fun as it was to stay up late, it was actually MORE fun to get up earlier!

Now I get up at 7am (sometimes even 6:45!) because I want to, and I wake up to the sound of Pumpkin peeping a cheery good morning as dawn begins to lighten the sky. One of my favorite parts of the day is going out on my daily hour-and-15-minute walk because I get to experience the world waking up around me. I get to see the sunrise every day! And, what an indescribable joy it is to hear the myriad birds twittering, tweeting, chirping and carrying on as they start their day. When it's cold enough, I get to appreciate the lovely frost all over everything. I get to enjoy Magic Hour every day! There's just nothing like this daily gift. In a radical about-face, I now think that staying up late is overrated and I will leave night-owling to the young and naive! :)

Today began as usual until I saw the morning light on the floor...it was PINK. "HOLY COW!" I said, and opened the blinds..."Oh wow, it's going to be a gorgeous sunrise!" I knew I had time for my shower so Pumpkin supervised from her shower perch and I was in and out in a flash. Looking outside, I could hardly believe the intense cotton-candy pinks and lovely shades in the clouds. I was so excited I put my shirt on backwards! I was bouncing on one leg trying to get into my pants without falling over! Pumpkin laughed at me in amusement—it was the Crazy Mama-bird Show! I mimicked her laugh right back at her and we trotted downstairs on the double. I put her on her kitchen perch and stepped outside with my phone to take pictures of the amazing sunrise. I looked over at the window and there was Pumpkin, admiring the lovely scene as well. What a SHOW!! I took more pictures later when I went on my walk, and you will see some insets that show the progress of this amazing sunrise.

Pam, let these beautiful sunrise images elicit oohs and ahhs, and reflect on the lovely sunrises out your window each day. As I look at my sunrise, and you look at yours, we can think of sharing these special moments together. Two friends holding hands and experiencing the magic of a new day. May your next sunrise be even prettier than today's!

Explored on 12/10/18, highest placement, #8.