In my opinion, one of the best ways to start the day is to watch the sun rise over the mountains. For me, it just sets a tone of optimism and a feeling that all is right in the world.
However, as I live in Vermont, I have two small problems with starting every morning this way.
The first is the reality of our topography. Unlike the Midwest, where I just looked out a window from any house I ever lived in, here in Vermont, we have mountains. If you are not in the right spot, the day just kind of starts by becoming light. You can’t see the sun coming up—unless you hike out to the specific spot. From my house, it’s about a ten-minute walk up an old logging trail.
The second challenge is even further out of my control: the time the sun appears. There is a solid difference in daylight hours, varying by the season. In June, there’s a sort of soft, hazy light beginning by about 4:30 AM. By September, that doesn’t happen until at least 6:15 AM.While the sun can have the flexibility to shine just a few minutes less every day from June 21st on, our worlds run on a clock that doesn’t change. By the time I’m home, I’m off schedule for mom duties.
By the way, just in case you are wondering why I don’t just strap on a headlamp and charge through the woods, I have perhaps what I should term as a third difficulty. This one doesn’t gravely concern me—but it does make me think twice. It’s our animal friends who live in the woods. There are bear here, and while they are not known for aggression at all, I don’t want to surprise them. I am convinced having a dog is a good deterrent for a bear encounter, and usually go out with at least one. However, that leads me to one last concern about the dark: skunks and porcupines are both mostly nocturnal. Dogs don’t mix well with either of those.
Lastly, it’s been cold in the morning lately, like 19 F (-7 C). At that temperature, the basement workout room appeals to me more.
Today, however, was unique. The clocks changed the past weekend. The weather warmed up.
And most importantly, because of this whole remote school thing, my daughter didn’t need to go into school today.
A silver lining of a crazy school year means I can appreciate the sunrise again? OK, yes, I’m happy about it today!
