Sunrise through the trees

We had a beautiful sunrise the other morning, and I grabbed my camera and stepped out on the porch to shoot this picture.

I have seen far more sunrises in my life than sunsets.

Sunsets always seem to catch me fixing supper – or just ‘settling in’ after a long day. Sunrises, are a different matter…………

I have always gotten up early. Growing up as the middle child and the 3rd girl, I was given the early “shift” in the bathroom on school mornings. I woke up at 5:45 am for most of my school years – getting up early enough to enjoy a cup of coffee (or coffee-milk) before taking my turn in the bathroom, showering and dressing for school.

This habit continued after I married Fred, who, for most years, would leave for work around 7am. And when the kids were little…..I would get out for a run around 5:30 or 6am (when the kids were a bit bigger, Fred would join me on these early morning runs). One of my favorite memories……rounding the corner, towards the end of our run…..and seeing the sun rise. Joy….exhilaration….and the feeling of the possibilities of the new day.

Old habits die hard, and, in retirement, we still find ourselves awake around 5:45 or 6 am. So……we get up, pre-dawn, and enjoy our coffee……on the porch in the warm weather, and, in cool weather, in front of the fire…. looking out the window at the start of a new day. This is one of our very favorite times, and a ritual that we look forward to each morning.

And as the sun rises, and the new day begins to take shape………there is that same feeling of joy…....and of possibility.