Joy in the mornings with Earl

I love mornings! I'd wake up early for almost anything, especially the chance to sit in silence. Alone. With a friend. It doesn't matter. There's a certain ambience about early mornings. The crisp air. The darkness. The solitude.

A few mornings ago my friend Emily picked me up at my house at 5:30 am. It was dark outside and the usually busy streets were empty. Our bags were heavy and full of the weeks homework, assignments and study guides.
We walked into an almost empty Starbucks with disheveled hair and sleepy eyes. Gave our coffee orders to the friendly employees and pulled out the books. The books were pushed to the side and small chit chat became deeper conversation with a few giggles here and there. From where we sat we could see a group of men, who might be known as "the regulars", sitting in a circle with coffee and newspaper in hand discussing some of the important topics from the daily news. After some minutes of giggling a gray-haired man, who I would like to call Earl, approached us and asked if we had gotten much homework done. With a small chuckle he half jokingly suggested that we stop talking and get back to our books. After homework had been started sometime later Earl, who we found out was a retired professor, wished us luck and on with his day he continued.

Again this morning I returned to the same almost empty Starbucks at 5:30 am to rejuvenate myself with the mornings silence and catch up on A&P. But with me this time was my friend, Kara. We went through the same process as before. Sleepy eyes, disheveled hair, coffee order, friendly employees and "the regulars". This time Earl approached, half joking again, and asked "so you brought a new friend to study with this morning, I see. One who doesn't talk so much." We laughed in unison and Earl patted me on the head and continued on with his morning routine.

I love the mornings, the joy I find in the mornings is like nothing else I can describe. If you're a morning person you might know what I mean, and if you're not I'm sure you would be if you knew what I'm talking about. It's a time of rejuvenation and growth. Not only do I focus better but I learn the most about myself in the early morning. It seems that as soon as the sun rises life is back to normal. With the sun comes schedule, work, school, people, routine, stress, anxiety... it's what we know as life. But I'd like to spend my life soaking up and holding onto that joy I find in the early morning and carry it out with me all day long.