I awakened earlier than usual today, in the pre-dawn hours before five.....one of the few times my house is quiet these days. I blame my early rising on the fact that I spent the bulk of the previous four days in bed!! Nothing exciting to report however -- I think those days have passed for me! Unfortunately it was the aftermath of a kidney stone and a subsequent infection. Oh great......now I sound like my grandparents! I remember as a child visiting my grandparents house with my parents and other assorted relatives. You could be sure that the talk would eventually turn to discussions of who had what surgery or new medical condition. Even at a young age I would marvel at how long they could talk about that subject while they were playing Canasta in a smoky room and drinking their high balls!
I am sitting on my screened in front porch, it is still dark and cool here in CA. The past few days have been over 103 during the day and humid....for here anyway. I have developed a deep appreciation for the ceiling fan in my bedroom as it has been my closest comforting companion during this period of extreme heat and ill health. No need for it now as it has cooled off to a delicious mid 60's temperature -- one of the gifts of living in a desert area in CA, evening and early morning cooling!
I like the sounds of the awakening of a new day. The crickets still chirping their slow song, the hissing of sprinklers timed to come on between 5 -- 6:00 am, the drone of fans and air conditioners trying to cool homes before the onslaught of the day's heat. There isn't much else moving, a Super Shuttle drove down the street ready to whisk someone to the airport, and my cat coming out to sit with me are the only movements noted.
As the day awakens, so do the noises. It used to be very quiet where I live here in the "hoo-vills", which was what my oldest daughter's word for the term foothills when she was very young -- long before her first Dr. Seuss story. I remember hearing the frogs too. They were extremely loud and part of the night sounds. I haven't heard them in years. I guess they have been replaced by the droning of the 210 freeway, some four miles from here. The semi trucks are very noticeable, far away I can hear a siren. There used to be a lot of pea hens who would call their woeful morning call of "HALP, HALP", but I haven't heard them for a long time either.
The crickets stopping their chirping caused me to look eastward, and I see that indeed the sky is lightening in that direction, a dog down the street barks as the freeway noise gets louder, I hear the first car on the street start. My cat is purring next to me and tweaks his ears as we hear the first squawk of a local mockingbird. Now the 6:00 am chiming of morning mass at the Catholic church are ringing and any minute now I should be hearing the first of the local roosters crow. Maybe if I am lucky, I will hear the whinnying of the horses from the canyon just north, as they are being turned out for a morning feed or ride.
By 6:15 am, the chirping of the crickets has been completely replaced by the chirping of the crows, sparrows, wrens and the cry of a lone chicken hawk. The dawn has been replaced by early morning light as I take a deep breath of the still cool air, savoring it before the oppressive heat of the day kicks in. I smell the faint leftover aromas of Sunday barbecues, and new mown lawns.
The slamming of a screen door snaps me out of my somewhat zen reverie. The words of a children's show that one of my kids watched race through my mind, "Time to get up, time to get going, gonna start a brand new day....."
There are some things I have to do today, dozens I should do and hundreds of things that I could do. Not sure yet how many of them I am going to feel "up to", but I surely am grateful for grabbing this morning time that I didn't have to grab. I could have slept and missed it all! I am very glad I did, as it has been a wonderful gift and reminder of how much we are given every morning.
