the 7 am list

it's 7 am, and I already have a list of great experiences for the day:

another moonlit bike ride in the silent pre-dawn world
visiting little dell's silvery shadowy presence
13 seconds of hands-free swooping down beacon drive
feeling cool, cold, warm, sweaty . . . a little of everything, already
90 minutes of exercise done, 23 miles to add to my weeks' total
knowledge that the coffeemaker is set, so all I have to do is push the button

what a great life.

some days my 7 am list is much shorter, but it almost always has a few things on it. I am a morning person. which ~ since I am one of those people who need significant amounts of sleep ~ means I give up the ten o'clock news, jay leno, and whoever else has a nighttime program on tv.
it's worth it, though, for I love the early morning world. the peace, the silence, the calm that lies over each street and neighborhood I pass.
I'm not alone in my love for early mornings, as I usually see at least a few others out running, walking, cycling, or lately, roller skiing. I feel a bond with these other people, those others also willing to get up in the dark and start their day by moonlight.
I've talked about the "first one up" award, or what some call "first tracks." while there's something exhilarating about being that person, it's not the only thing. I'm willing to share that honor, I don't always have to win it; I just like being there before daylight, when everything shifts and becomes just slightly less magical than it is in the dark.
John Steinbeck, in the winter of our discontent, describes "first tracks" as his character walks across a frosted field of grass: "It is like being first in a new world, a deep, satisfying sense of discovery of something clean and new, unused, undirtied." there are thousands of ways to make first tracks, and the very best part of it all is that we're given those opportunities with each new morning, with each frost, with each snowfall.
there's always a tomorrow.

and back to lists, just so you know, there are times when my 10 am list includes the following:

had a great little nap.