morning…

My lovely friend Mags recently gave me a book called “Morning”. It’s written by Allan Jenkins – who, like me, is an early riser (and, unlike me, regularly does a little light gardening at 5am in soft light!). The book’s cover contains the following words from the author: “This is my manifesto for morning. There is an energy in the earlier hours, an awareness I enjoy. In today’s world we tend to wake as late as we can, timed to when we have to work. But we don’t need to chase the day”. In the book, he ‘talks’ to a number of other early risers who are asked to reply to a standard set of questions.

I thought it would be fun to try to answer these questions for myself, so here goes:

First, could you tell me a little about yourself?
Retired architect (I ran my own Practice in Buckinghamshire for nearly 30 years), married to Moira, three daughters, six grandchildren… enjoy sketching, taking photographs and walking. We’ve lived in Bristol for 16 years and are a 10 minute walk to the harbourside.
What time do you wake up (and why)?
It varies. I’ve always been an early riser. During my ‘working life’, I would invariably wake up at 5.10am (really!), and it’s still very much the same since I ‘properly’ retired in 2011 (although my waking time varies from 3.30am to 6am). I love the early mornings… it feels like ‘bonus time’ – especially since I retired.
Do you have a morning ritual?
If I wake VERY early, I might read for a while… but usually I get up as soon as I wake. I go downstairs, unbolt the front door, open the living room curtains, take my medication, put two rounds of bread in the toaster and make myself a coffee (something between a double espresso and a small Americano). I check out the news online (briefly), post a status update on facebook and post my daily blog (a photograph and a drawing on alternate days – a daily ‘ritual’ that’s now been going for very nearly 7 years, with well over 2,500 images). Then I usually go back to bed and read for an hour or so (these days I read something like 90 books a year).
How does being awake early affect your life?
Waking up early really does feel like a bonus. I love looking at the morning sky each day; I love listening to our local blackbird singing its heart out from dawn; I love being aware of the changing seasons and changing positions (and times) of the sunrise. Every day I feel as if I’ve ‘achieved’ things long before most people have arrived at work (one of the bonuses of retirement!) and feel pretty relaxed about fitting in all the other stuff I/we get up to in our regular activities. During my ‘working life’, I tended to breakfast and drive into the office early (by 6am if I could, as the children got older); I think I was driven by a sense of being able to get lots done before everyone else had started work (and without interruptions). Looking back - having established a rather different, more relaxed, morning routine in my retirement – I do have some regrets that I was perhaps ‘too driven’ and that my work/life balance wasn’t ideal.
What time do you sleep?
These days, I frequently go to be VERY early (sometimes before 9pm)(I know!) and read for up to an hour (in the main, with a few exceptions, television bores me!).
Does your sleep vary through the year?
Not really… but perhaps my ‘rising time’ extends by the odd quarter of an hour during the winter months?
Has your sleep pattern changed?
During most of my working life, I would be in bed between say 10pm and midnight and would be perfectly happy with perhaps 4-5 hours sleep a night (with occasional catch-ups at weekends?)… but, these days, I need more sleep time (even though I tend to wake quite frequently during the night).
Is the light important?
Yes. I love to see the bright morning sky shine through the curtains (the sun shining through the stained glass propped up on the window cill and casting coloured shadows on to the curtains). Drab, grey days definitely ‘pull me down’ somewhat.
What do you like least about being awake early?
I really can’t think of anything negative about waking up early.
How would you sum up your thoughts on your mornings in 100 words or less?
I absolutely love early mornings. I get a real sense of new beginnings and new opportunities (that sounds a little corny doesn’t it!). Early morning walks (frequently around the harbourside in my case) are very special. It often feels a bit like a secret world and there’s part of me that wants to keep it that way and not to tell anyone else about it!