{mornings}

i never thought i would say this, but i think i'm a morning person.  before you jump to the old jokes, let me explain a bit.

mornings are so peaceful.  they're cool, they're pretty, they're God's way of refreshing us and reminding us 'today is a new day... you get to start over'.

waking up early is not a new thing to me.  in undergrad and the first year of grad school, i woke up early to go hang out with some hilarious middle schoolers and play games before school.  then i got semi- grown up and had to wake up early to go to the va and drive to an elementary school and hang out with some equally funny kids for my internships.  now i'm more grown up with a real job and real kids that are my own individual speech kids.  strangely, i don't hate waking up at 5:30.  i mean, i relish in the weekends where i get to sleep in (today i woke up at 6:40 thinking i was late, remembered it was saturday and slept again til 9:30!!!!), but my drive to winchester is pretty- i drive past horse farms and fields full of mist while the sun starts it's ascent across the sky.  i also know i'm on my way to see precious little faces full of wonder and soaking up information like a sponge.  even without seeing kids, i can start the collection of my future best seller about the things kids say (my current favorite is a little boy who came in crying (as most do their first day), and an hour in was laughing and told me 'i don't need to cry no more!  school is fun and daddy will be proud of me!')

on the weekends, i like my mornings for a different reason.  i get time.  time to wake up slowly, time to sit in my favorite spot in my house- my tiny 4 foot by 12 foot little back porch.  my mom and dad got me a little table and chairs, i have my basil plant, and i can read and journal, drink some coffee, and watch life go by under the shade of a huge oak tree.  it's my reminder that life is good.  God refreshes.  mornings are beautiful.