Early Bird or Night Owl?
I love being up early in the morning, when the sun is just rising and bathing the world in a soft light to ease us into the day. I like the feeling of stillness it brings.
My morning routine begins with my dog, Ranni. She wakes me up every morning around 6:00am for breakfast. After feeding her, I drink a glass of water and then put on a pot of coffee. Sometimes I'll make a latte with the espresso machine instead of drip coffee. Either way, that first sip of coffee is when my senses come to life.
Danny works evenings, so he sleeps in, and Ranni usually goes back to bed with him after finishing her breakfast. I make an early breakfast for myself, typically oatmeal. Or if I'm feeling tired of oatmeal, I might do scrambled eggs, toast, and gravy instead. I sit down with breakfast and coffee, and I either read a book or catch up on articles online.
I also love being awake late into the night. It brings its own kind of stillness, a liminality that almost feels endless in the dark. I'm most productive in the evening and at night. It's when I feel like I can do my best work, and I sometimes wish that my official work schedule was later in the day, although I love having the nighttime to just do whatever I feel like.
On weekends, I stay up well into the early morning, until around 3:00 or 4:00am, working on projects, writing, gaming, or reading. Most of the world is asleep, and I rarely hear a car pass by on the road outside my window. Danny stays up late too, so I have him for company, and Ranni is in full sleep mode again after a day of running around at the dog park, playing indoors, and going for a walk.
I usually have a midnight snack. My favorite is white rice with a simple but tasty sauce that I make: a mixture of soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, ground ginger, and garlic powder. I mix it into the rice, and it makes for a warm and comforting dish.
Am I an early bird or a night owl? Sometimes I'm not sure. My sleep schedule flip-flops between the weekdays and weekends, and I truly love both early morning and late night. I suspect I'm more of a night owl, and if I were left to my own devices, I would stay up late every night, but I have to admit that I'd miss those early sunrises with coffee, breakfast, and downtime before the day begins.