Admissions of a weather and sunrise junkie

I know there are other people who thrive on getting out of bed and seeing the sunrise.  I just don't happen to know a whole lot of them.  Getting up confirms that I'm still breathing and have survived one more night, but it's a lot more than that.

First off it's a new day.  The sun is rising in a slightly different spot than it did yesterday.  Someone somewhere around the world has done something interesting that I've yet to learn. 

Some of the world best writers have had another night to craft some words that might either delight me, infuriate me, or even inspire me to write something of my own.  I might even meet someone new.

The weather in some of the places that I track has changed.  It might be the same where I'm at, but someplace there is something interesting happening as the weather keeps changing.

As I rode across the Highway 58 bridge this morning from Cape Carteret to Emerald Isle and snapped the above picture, the outside thermometer was reading thirty seven degrees Fahrenheit which is not far off the record low for the date of thirty six degrees.  That is a change well worth noting.

I might be tempted to credit the eleven years of farming for establishing a habit of getting up early, but I can remember many mornings not wanting to take that long hike to the barn to milk our Guernsey, Rosie before I started the regular chores involved in taking care of 200 head of beef cattle.  Taking a little hike at thirty below zero is not a very attractive option when you're in a warm bed.

Perhaps it's my newspaper addiction that provides that early morning energy.  I've always been hooked on reading the morning newspapers even when I was in elementary school.  Today I have fun sending a couple of my college roommates links to early morning news articles that I pluck from my favorite papers around the world.  It's pretty easy to stay connected these days, and re-establishing those connections every day is one of the reasons I can instantly hop out of bed.

For the last few years, there's been the morning emails which nearly everyone but the President seems to enjoy these days.  I like to hear from friends and see what's happening around.  Many of my friends have switched to instant messaging, but I still find that catching them early in the morning is easier than later in the day.

Actually I believe getting up early in the morning is directly tied to your happiness level.  If you're happy about your life and where it is headed, you don't want to miss a minute of it.  We have such a short time to enjoy life, that spending it in bed just isn't in my character. (Don't take that to be an anti-nap statement)  Whether it's getting up to catch a sunrise from our Roanoke house or driving across the bridge to see the sun rise over the sound,  I'll keep doing it as long as I can.

If I start staying in bed much past sunrise, you can start digging the grave.