random thoughts – Day 2,374 (Wednesday) – day time

Even though I haven’t worked for more than a year now, I still kept the morning alarm set for 6:30 a.m. Many mornings, I hit snooze and sleep in ten-minute increments until I stop snoozing and hit stop instead. Then, when I finally wake-up wake up around 8:00 or 9:00, the first thing in my head is “oh-crap-the-morning-is-half-over.” But I keep doing it.

Sometimes I wake up early. Like, 4:00 this-is-too-frigging-early early. That is annoying, but I can usually fall back to sleep to an hour that feels more reasonable.

This morning, Kiki was meowing. She’s been very vocal lately, walking around meowing and only stops when I give her the Temptations Treats to which she seems to be addicted. I hoped she wasn’t demanding her morning treat early because that is just rude. I noticed a pinkish glow through the bedroom blinds and got up to check things out from the living room windows where the blinds lower from the top.

Morning light, 9-16-2026.

The sky over the trees and houses across the street was pinkish and getting pinker. I thanked Keeks for meowing me awake and watched the sky. The view was better from the front door, which meant I was on the front steps in my pajamas at 6:20 this morning, taking pictures of the sky, hoping no neighbors were up looking out their windows and glad that they were at least the nice matching pajamas. I knew better than to dress first because I would miss the entire morning spectacle. And sure enough, it was over in just a couple minutes.

After the sunrise the coffee was put on and I dressed for the day. By 10:00, I had eaten the current favorite scrambled egg, cheese, and veggie breakfast burrito and visited with Mom next door. There was a long-overdue appearance by the contractor who usually has many excuses and very little concrete, helpful information. He dropped off scaffolding to allegedly soon start the siding, just three months after the initial timeline.

The early start meant the day felt long and luxurious. A book was finished. A new one was started. There was a noontime walk and a 2:00 oil change. Trees and shrubs were trimmed. There was a second walk at 6:00 p.m. There is a lot to be said for being up early on a beautiful day. I need to start doing it regularly again.