My favorite time of day

Mama C's the morning after Christmas

My favorite time of day would have to be mornings.  Not necessarily work mornings because those can be a little wirey, but mornings when I don't have to be at the hospital are just dreamy.  I roll out of bed when my husband's alarm goes off; oddly, he doesn't.  He's one of those people who sets like 5 alarms that go off before he actually gets out of bed for the day.  I'm totally opposite-- on workdays I either wake up when my alarm goes off the first time or am awake before the alarm even has a chance to wake me up.  I let my feet hit the floor and can already hear Doc crying in the room next to us-- apparently Scott's alarm wakes him up, too.

I sneak into little Doc's room and let him jump all over me, a habit I just am not ready to break him of yet.  We walk through the living room and to the back door, where he sprints out into the leaf-covered yard.  While he is out there, I have just enough time to grind some coffee beans and turn on the coffeemaker before little Doc sits down to wait at the back door.  Sometimes he jumps on the door and peers in until I make eye contact with him, which I am careful not to do until the coffee has been set into motion.  He gives me a look as though to say, "Did you forget about me?"

He runs in and grabs his elephant or his dragon and starts shaking them around while I get his food ready.  The look of anticipation as I get ready to set his food down is something to cherish-- I tell Scott sometimes if he is awake at that time, "Get ready, Doc is about to start doing back flips for his food!"  While he eats, I start whisking together some eggs after pouring a steamy cup of coffee, the first of the day.  Nothing beats the first cup.  The proportions of coffee to almond milk are just right, the coffee is fresh and just the right temperature, and each sip is just heavenly as I feel the caffeine start to pull me into focus and into the day ahead of me.  Sometimes I dice up potatoes and make a Davis family favorite--breakfast potatoes.  A little seasoning salt, pepper, and parsley goes in the pan and they're good to go.

I sit at the table once breakfast is ready and eat with Scott.  Some days, he's in a hurry so I pack his breakfast up and send him out the door.  I leave our door open with the storm door shut, letting light peer in to warm up the house.  I slide back to the table and do some light reading as I drink coffee and finish breakfast.  By this time, I'm at least on my second cup, and I feel like my thoughts are sharper, more focused on what I need to do that day.  Doc goes outside again while I sip coffee, and I watch him doing puppy zoomies in the yard while the sun dances on his beautiful chocolate coat.

These are mornings in our little house on Crittenden, the mornings that I have come to love and cherish so very much.  I love mornings no matter where I am, but they're especially lovely here.  I have a favorite memory of a particular morning in North Carolina that I hold very dear to my heart-- it's the morning that the above picture was taken.  It was the day after Christmas and all of the grandchildren had spent the night at Mama C's house.  The men were going hunting and the women were tucked into their warm beds for a little extra sleep.  Not me, of course.  When Scott's alarm went off, I hopped out of bed, grabbed my book, and went into the kitchen.  Uncle T and TJ had already started some coffee before they headed out to hunt, so I poured a cup and kissed Scott as he went off to hunt.  I sat on Mama C's screened in back porch devouring Pride & Prejudice for the umpteenth time.  When the sun started to come up, I could see a beautiful fog over the pond behind her house.  I got up and started walking around, with a blanket still draped around me.  I took in the beauty of God's creation and this favorite place of mine that I was in.  Everything was slower here, I had more time to breathe and take in the beauty around me.  I watched my breath in front of me as I looked at the world around me waking up for the day.  The sun started to bring everything into focus, and I thought that there must surely be a spot in heaven that looks just like this.

I don't know if you're a morning person or not, or if you're reading this thinking that I am surely psychotic and need to just take something to help me sleep longer in the mornings.  But I don't want to sleep any longer.  I look forward to mornings so very much, even when they're quiet and just for me.  Even when everyone else wants to stay tucked into their warm beds or heads off for busy work days.  Mornings are just a space I love to dwell in, and I hope this always remains.

Love,
C.