Mornings

Garfield the cat is a sage.

He has many words of wisdom concerning the morning:

If people were meant to pop out of bed, they would sleep in toasters

Mornings would be better if they started later...

As a college student, I am obligated to feel animosity towards the dawn of the day. The rising sun, by nature, is offensive to me because it means I must pry myself out of the safety of my bed and face the harsh reality of the world.

[Side pondering: If the sun, which is yellow, essentially means time to start another day, why does the yellow traffic light mean slow down?...someone should either address this concern to the traffic elves who change the signals or to the sun and request it to shine green so that we are not so confused and upset in the mornings when a yellow orb is telling us to GO GO GO!! ]

This past semester, my roommate has been practicing a fairly inconvenient habit of asking me questions right after I transition from my dreamworld to reality.

First of all, coming back to reality is:

• Sometimes refreshing (especially after I have dreamed about failing a project presentation...you could consider that an Amanda nightmare),
  
• sometimes confusing (especially after I have dreamed about having a very plausible conversation with a friend...did it really happen? not sure...), and
  
• sometimes heartbreaking (like when I dream that I am snowboarding at Crystal Mountain in Washington with the snow falling on my face and the chill air cutting through my jacket on the ski lift...only to wake up hot and sweating because it is 90 degrees in Southern California in February...)

Second of all, in all honesty, the only decision I want to make within an hour of waking up is which creamer to use in my coffee.

Also, if my classes don't start until 6pm, why would I want to get up at 5am to shuffle around all day watching random TV talk shows that air in the early morning when I could be watching a perfectly good movie screened on the inside of my eyelids....I have upgraded to HD dreams...via the addition of earplugs and the elimination of an alarm clock ;)

YET,

possibly my favorite time of the day is morning.

Mornings are quiet. Mornings are full of possibilities. You have not run out of time in the morning. You are not yet late in the morning. You have not stuck your foot in your mouth in the morning. Mornings are fresh. Mornings are still.

As I think of finishing college in the next couple of months and the desire to finish strong, I am struck by the need to start strong. My previous post was about the finish line of college. However, the finish line does not come to me, I have to go to it. As a natural born competitor, wandering aimlessly toward a goal is not good enough, actually it is shameful for me. I want to cross the finish line, if not first, at least at full speed, exerting all that I have.

Even though I will be committing treason by mingling with the enemy, I think I am growing to appreciate mornings. (I am not ready to say love, so we will not be celebrating Valentine's day together this year).

If mornings were a person, we would simply be on the "hi" status, meaning we acknowledge each other but are not quite ready to stop and chat...