Early Mornings

I truly do love mornings. I love the silence and the darkness that greet me as I creep my way down the stairs, hoping the kids don't hear me and decide to wake up too. I don't usually run before 8am, but this morning the dog woke me up at 5:00am, I suppose for a pee she just couldn't stand to hold until 6 or 7:00. So I decided to just suit up and go. No breakfast beforehand, no watch, and with my glasses on, because it seemed like too much effort to put my contacts in.

There is something sort of creepy about running around the streets of suburbia, when all the lights are out in the homes lining the street. There is something very relaxing about it too, apparently, as I felt quite comfortable letting the morning gas go ... people already think I'm crazy for running, in the winter, at 5am, by myself.

The streets are sheer ice underneath a soft, slippery serving of snow. So, you have to be careful where your feet land. I didn't fall. I haven't fallen too many times at all when I have been running, but ice is one of those surfaces that freak me out. Ice and mud. The mud around here is 70% clay, so it can be snotty as .... what's that slime they used to drop on the kids' heads on Nickelodeon? It's probably like that.

The world is so utterly quiet at that time of day, and it is so easy for me to get into a zone without the distractions of traffic and people. Tetley and I spotted a little fox by the school, who must have been a young one, because he wasn't smart enough to just take off. He was very curious about us, and while he kept a safe distance, he really wanted to know who we were. The dog, of course, was getting all nutty about seeing such a stranger. I called out to him, "You foxy fox - what are you doing? Go on now." There have been quite a few foxes right in our neighborhood this year, and the best show I've seen all year was the morning when two foxes were playing in the deep snow that was blanketing peoples' yards. Those two rolled, stalked, pounced, teased and ran for a good half an hour, while me and my man watched from inside. It was absolutely beautiful.

I sincerely hope those foxes stay out of trouble ... because if someone's cat gets eaten, the foxes story may take a turn for the worse.

I love nature, and I always have. I feel so in awe, and so connected when I'm able to be outside, away from civilization and alone with my thoughts. I have always been a thinker, and have always enjoyed being alone - even as a young child it's just how I liked to be. You can't argue with that. I think my Mom probably worried about me a little bit at times, and she encouraged me to go outside and to play with the neighborhood kids. I know she didn't realize that I was never alone - I had a whole world of imaginary friends who were highly entertaining.

Yes, I was a different kid, but most of the time I never minded about that. I still don't mind about that today. I am a different kid. For me, it has been the single most liberating thing I have going for me, to not mind what people think. "It's none of your business what other people think about you" ... and "Those who matter don't mind, those who mind don't matter!"

Always stay true to yourself.