Early morning restlessness

Most of the time I'm completely happy living in my sleepy little township. I like seeing the same people at the grocery store. Waving to the same dog walkers and joggers on the tree lined streets. I know the names of my librarians and the woman who delivers my mail. (but not the workers behind the desk at the post office because those folks are rude, yo) It's where I grew up and I generally enjoy the peace and quiet.

Except for this moment. This early morning moment when I'm wide awake before the sun is up. In my heart, this moment is full of expectation and I want the world around me to reflect that feeling. There are signs of the impending day evident outside my window, the call of birds, the faint glow of the sunrise on the horizon. I want more than those small signs, I want drama and loudness and an ever growing increase of activity until it all just crests into a shining new day.

It's this time of the day when I want to live in a big city. To watch the new day dawn with the sounds of buses and subway trains rumbling through the streets. To smell the air ripe with the offerings of bakeries and coffee shops. I want to see the harsh neon lights give way to the cool gray of dawn all glinting off high-rise windows. I want to experience all those moments when night tips off the precipice into a new morning.

But, of course, I don't really want to spend that morning in the big city. Or even the night before, if I'm honest with myself. My heart truly does find contentment in the safety and silence of my semi-rural home. Just every once in a while, I find myself in this rare early morning moment when I want something more.