Vernal Equinox 2010 - An Early Morning Day

Well, first of all, Happy Birthday to Janice.

Today is the first day of spring, and I got up early for once, 6:30 a.m., which I haven't done for a while. I've been on a late night sleep schedule: go to bed around 4 a.m. and get up around noon. It works for me and my writing days. Dinner is like my lunch.

But now I'm up. I forced myself out of bed and got moving. That's the trick when it's early: keep moving. Don't sit or lay down--that's instant sleep. Movement is key. Showers are good too. And of course there's coffee.

For me, there's a weirdness to being up early, especially this morning--strange memories hearkening back to my newspaper delivery days and all those sleepy school mornings that were only made palatable by the redemption song of summer.

But school days were not the only days that started early. Oh no. I've started many a traveling day at sunrise. You gotta maximize daylight when you're on the road, biking or walking or driving around and across the country.

Yes, sometimes you have to get up early. It makes things possible, like getting a lot of work done before the evening comes. I have plans for tonight, a party with my friend Ilyse, so I woke up early today, which is rare for me. But life is full of surprises, and I've learned to embrace them. It helps keep me nimble.

Marley looked a little surprised when I came down to walk him at 6:40. It was getting light, but no direct sunlight--that came closer to 7:00, which makes sense. The word equinox has Latin roots and means "equal night." And today we'll be having equal periods of daylight and night. Sunrise a little after seven. Sunset a little after seven.

Well, the clock is ticking and the sun is getting higher in the sky, coming in through the back windows of our home, filling the kitchen with lovely morning light, something I don't always see. Time to get to work--back to book 1--I'm writing a story that you probably won't be able to read for a while. Book time moves very slow. And publishing is still a long ways off, but it's getting closer everyday, and that's a nice way to think about it.

Mahalo.

Jeff