MY BEST MORNINGS

My mornings are varied.  The flow, the rhythm, the routine is not set.  My mornings vary based on whether I work that day or not and whether Brian works that day or not and just, generally, what else is going on in life. 

Even though I do not have a standard morning routine, I definitely have a favorite. 

It starts with getting myself out of bed at a ridiculous hour.  That part is never easy and is not my favorite, but it's the only way to make the rest of the morning work.  I tie on my tennis shoes and head downstairs to the treadmill as quickly as possible.

As I walk on the treadmill, I read through my prayer book.  My prayer book is a spiral-bound set of index cards with hand written prayers and a basic Christian creed.  I have limited the writing on each card to help me focus on one idea at a time.  The prayers have been compiled from a large number of sources and cover a wide range of topics. The creed is from A Gospel Primer. 

If I make it through my prayer book and still have walking/stretching time left, I either continue to pray, read on my Kindle or listen to part of a podcast. 

After exercising, I head back upstairs to shower.  After I shower, I dry and straighten my hair.  This step is important because if I don't do my hair it has an 80% chance of looking weird and frizzy.  (The other 20% of the time, it behaves itself and has some nice, controlled waves.)  I am often tempted to take the risk and not dry my hair, in hopes of saving myself 20 minutes of time, but generally regret it when I do. 

I read blogs while I dry my hair.  Reading blogs usually feels like a guilty pleasure, but I feel less guilty about it if I am getting something else done at the same time. 

If I can accomplish all of this before the Sammer wakes up or before I head to work, I can pretty much guarantee that I will have a great day. 

My body feels great, my heart is refreshed and head is in the right place after spending some time with God, I am clean, my hair won't freak me out every time I look in the mirror and I have taken some time to indulge myself in unnecessary, but fun reading. 

Sometimes I wonder why I can't get myself to follow this routine every single day.  I think the answer lies partly in the still-really-the-middle-of-the-night wake up time.  And (related) in my love of sleep. 

Oh well.  For now, I am quite happy to have found the routine and glad that I make it a part of each week, if not each day.