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The past few weeks (months?) have been different, to say the least. As we are all aware, Covid-19 has invaded our shores, and with it, profound changes to our daily lives. The days, mostly spent at home except for a few essential errands, run on like an endless stream of handkerchiefs from a magician’s sleave. Just when you think you’ve reached the last one, he pulls out just one more, and then another. Saturdays and Wednesdays all look and feel the same, and the rythms of life that we have subconciously been relying upon to chart our life paths have disappeared. Strange and unsettling, at least for me.

One constant that has remained, however, is that beautiful first light of each morning. Rain or shine, cloudy or clear, cool or crisp, morning comes. Every day. And thank goodness for that.

Ever since I was a little boy, mornings have been the best part of my day. I have risen at or before dawn for as long as I can remember. That first glimpse of half-light slowly revealing the world is truly magical, as much now as it was when I was young. Its as though each day is a fresh start, and even though you are fairly certain what the light will likely reveal as it warms the horizon, somehow it still looks just a little different and unique from the morning before.

My mornings start with a fresh hot cup of coffee, and my dogs. The dogs have been asleep most of the night, and they are as excited as me it seems to head out the back door and sniff and smell the fresh clean air of the new day. While they search the yard and back deck for any clue as to what exotic creature may have dared to trespass during the night, I ease into the deck chair, often light a small fire, and sip that hot, black, miracle elixir of coffee and wait for the sun to fully rise.

During this pandemic, I have relied on that daily routine more than in past times. It has provided a morning refresher, like a cold water splash when you’re a bit foggy eyed, and a clear, crisp lens with which to view the new day. A small routine indeed, but it nonetheless has had, and continues to have, a very big impact on my well-being.

I might not at first remember if its Friday or Sunday, since the other routines of life have now been reshaped, and are not likely to return for quite some time. But until the new normal sets in, whatever that may be, I still have one of the best parts of the old normal to enjoy.

Looks like the fire is dying down, and the dogs have thoroughly investigated and catalogued the overnight critter passings in the yard. I’m going to finish this last hot sip of my coffee and start my day.

I hope you enjoy yours as well.

copyright 2020 by Djamesclark – all rights reserved