The Morning I Dreamed Into Being

Today I made my first attempt at creating structure and routine in my new life. It’s only 8:54am, so I should clarify —this morning is my first attempt at a new routine and it’s everything I’ve spent the last 4+ years dreaming of.

5:23am —accept my husband’s kiss goodbye from bed.

5:30am —roll over to shut off my alarm.

5:38am —brush my teeth and put on sunscreen.

WIN WIN, and I’ve only been awake for 15 minutes. Only upright and moving for three.

Then I get dressed. The woman who notoriously basks in loungewear all day starts to wonder who I am today.

5:49am —harness and leash my pup.

6:00am —arrive at the river after exchanging friendly “good mornings” with not one, but two folks out on their early morning walks, too.

6:01am —toss the first stick of the day for a pup who can hardly contain the joy of an early morning swim. I don’t blame him. Joy is not meant to be contained.

I forgot my sunglasses, and I am literally facing dead east, tossing the stick into the thickest rays of morning Sun. And yet I don’t care, because the Sun has a message for me. In those rays of Sun over the mighty Columbia River, I feel nothing but humility, joy and gratitude for another morning here on Earth. Another day to follow my heart and honor my soul. Another opportunity to come home to myself, to serve others, to live in alignment with my biggest and wildest dreams. Thank you, Sun.

6:23am —we make our way back to the house. We’ve both been exercised and received our fair dose of Vitamin D. Double win. Or is that a quadruple win?

6:35am —arrive home, dry off my boy and wipe down his dusty wet paws.

6:42am —water the flower beds, feeling gratitude for the ability to cultivate such beauty with my own two hands; give thanks to the Water, the Sun, and the complete and utter magic contained within a single seed.

6:59am —make my first cup of coffee, 1.5 hours after waking —which means my cortisol levels had time to spike, clearing out any lingering adenosine. According to experts, this means I should now have sustained energy throughout the day. This might be my biggest win yet. We won’t talk about my empty stomach. I am a wholehearted believer of celebrating the small wins.

7:08am —take a morning stroll. With my coffee and myself. For myself. Catch the scent of dry pine in the breeze. Shed a little tear because it’s my favorite scent in the whole wide world. I am utterly overcome by the privilege to call this place home. To wake to the beauty and vastness of the Columbia River Gorge. To feel pride and humility that I manifested this life for myself. To feel gratitude for the fundamental gift of life —for the ability to create, to dream, to feel, to connect, to give, to breathe, to simply be alive.

7:40am —arrive home to make myself a bowl of grass fed yogurt, topped with homemade granola and more marionberries than one should eat in a single day.

I cannot say what the rest of the day has in store, but my intuition tells me this routine might just be the one. And if it isn’t, it was a morning well lived nonetheless. A promise kept to myself. A beginning worth remembering.

With love and light,