Life at 4.30 in the Morning

This semester I start teaching at 9.20 in the morning. To avoid traffic and being late for my classes, I wake up at 4.30am. And that's on good days. Very often Maya wakes up at 3.00 or 4.00 and nurses until 4.30, so my days start earlier than planned.

I get to school by 8.00 and teach on and off until 8.30pm. I don't get home until a bit after 10.00pm - everyone is already asleep except for Len.

During the day, I'm usually so busy that I don't have time to feel tired. My evening class students give me so much energy that I'm grateful for the 1.5-hour commute because it helps me calm down and get 'emotionally' ready for bed. But it's the morning part of my day that is pretty interesting.

It's hard to explain the negativity I wake up with that early in the day. But as bad as it is, it doesn't last long. Seeing angelic and sleepy Maya (we co-sleep) puts the first smile on my face. Waking Len up and watching him start his day brings me another boost of energy. But the way that a cup of coffee wakes me up is absolutely amazing. These 8oz of pure heaven bring me enough energy to get me going for the next 20 hours. Energy is a small part of what I get from my coffee. There is also a wave of happiness, excitement, anticipation, and self content; whatever the day has in store - after my coffee, I'm ready for it.

And there are other things that get me going in the morning. I love when one of our neighbors happens to leave for work at the same time as I do. I like to watch the trucks parked for the night along hwy 5 start their engines and begin their new routes. And I feel for kids whose school bus I pass before I hit the freeway. And then there is the radio station that accompanies me all the way to school. It's a bunch of guys laughing most of the time. They teach me nothing but put me in a good mood, make me laugh and help me relax even in the worst traffic - and that's all I need in the morning.

PS. I drink instant coffee - F.olgers - from C.ostco (in case anyone was wondering).