MORNINGS

I love mornings. There is something so sacred and special about the earth and the quietness and the beauty of mornings. There is something so new…

I totally realize that at my stage of life I’m able to enjoy a uninterrupted, quiet morning, and I will soak it up…one day, all those little feet and voices will surround me and it will be a different kind of morning. Not a bad different by any means, but just different.

Maybe this will change once I actually do have children, but I think that I will love mornings the most with them. Sometimes I’ll be sitting and reading or eating breakfast and I just imagine this little junior walking up to me in cozy pajamas, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, and crawling on my lap for a snuggle. Gah. My maternal instincts just go mush thinking about that.

But for now, I do have the luxury of quiet mornings…and I hope one day I have the luxury of busy mornings with my little ones.

I’m pretty ritualistic about my mornings. I am usually awake by six thirty, or sometimes earlier, but most times I don’t get up until seven. Sometimes I’ll wake up and drift in and out for a while, but more often then not, once I’m awake, I’m just awake. One of my favorite things to do when I’m still waking up is to play the Bible audio on the Bible app I have on my phone. I don’t do very well reading the Bible first thing, which some may argue is really a discipline you form. Probably true, but I find that I soak up the most when I read later in the morning or day, once I’m fully awake. But I do love to listen to it when I’m waking up.

I really don’t like being in bed past seven, although some days it will stretch to seven thirty. But when that happens, I just feel behind…I don’t know why, since I don’t usually have a strict schedule to keep. It’s just mental, I suppose.

First thing once I get up….coffee. I’ve become a ritualistic coffee consumer since I’ve been married and have time in the morning for a leisure breakfast. Not sure if that’s good or bad, but in any case, I really like my morning coffee. I’m usually too lazy to make the really good stuff in a French press or Chemex (though I definitely agree you get better flavor and quality with those methods), so its usually just the good old coffee maker kind for me. We were gifted a coffee grinder and maker for our wedding, and it’s been one of our most appreciated appliances!

So coffee brewing…and onto breakfast. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, and I think I could honestly eat breakfast foods at almost every meal if I let myself. I’m definitely a sweet carb kind of breakfast person, and rarely feel hungry for eggs or something savory. Oatmeal, pancakes, french toast…those are what get me!

I know they say it’s not a good idea to do anything else when you are eating, because it supposedly takes away a level of concentration on your food and thus takes away a level of satisfaction. Maybe true, but more often than not, I’m doing something while I’m eating. Reading a book, reading blogs, reading news…maybe it’s a bad habit and I should be more “french” and just watch the morning scenery…probably true, but for now, it’s a habit I’m not trying to break.

So I pour my coffee (into a preheated mug…this is an essential ritual because there’s nothing worse than lukewarm coffee halfway through your breakfast. i always fill my mug with water and pop it into the microwave for one minute to get it steaming hot) and plate my breakfast and enjoy the morning with all its quietness and newness and wonderfulness.

What about you: do you enjoy mornings? What are your morning rituals and habits?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!