Running Late in the Morning, but enjoying the Change in Routine

This morning was a complete break with my regular routine. I got up at the usual 5:45-6:00 a.m. Well, I reach consciousness about then. The radio turns on at 5:45 and I listen to what’s happening on the radio for 15 minutes, commune with Bella, my dog for a bit and then the first alarm goes off on my iPhone. It’s kind of a 10 second blues riff. That is the signal to get out of bed and hit the shower.

I lazily rolled out of bed and headed into the living room. The living room sliding door had been completely frosted over, so I knew this was a cold one. Laura uses that door to go out into our “smoker’s lounge”, sadly, she has not yet seen the light about that nasty habit yet. So she gets to go out on the balcony and commune with nature while she inhales the cancer stick. As a consequence of the door opening, a fair bit of moist air was trapped between the two doors and as a result Jack Frost got to do his thing on the door.

Taking note of the very pretty pattern, I wandered into the bathroom. I know it takes me 15 min to shower because as I emerge I hear my iPhone chirping its 2^nd alarm – the beginning 25 seconds of the Amy Winehouse tune “she wakes up alone”. It always makes me smile. I have grown to like to sleep alone. It is about 6:25 by the time I have dried my hair and the day has been kicked started. Then I remember yesterday’s unfinished blog.

Hmm, maybe I should get it done now, I think as I saunter into the kitchen and put on the coffee. I turn and look out my other sliding door at the lake. This door has not been opened recently so no frosted panes. The view is clear and the sun is just starting to come up and cast a pink hue on the horizon chasing away the darkness to the west. The extreme cold is causing mist to rise in thin ribbons and it looks incredible. I take in the day as I contemplate the blog. A photo opportunity! I run to get my camera to try and capture the beauty of the scene, sighing with the thought that it is always a better view in person. It is times like this that I miss having someone in my life, integrated into my morning routine. Cameras are just not as good as eyes and a brain. But I take the picture anyway, hoping that in some way it would capture the moment. Thoughts return to the blog. Maybe I could use it there.

I grabbed my glass of OJ, stride back to the bedroom, scooped up my laptop and crawled back into bed, pulling the duvet over me and intent on finishing yesterday’s blog. It is cozy sitting there in bed with my laptop throwing heat like a heating pad on my tummy, warming me up at the same time as it functions as a piece of technology. I get my blog quickly finished. OK - not exactly a great job. I messed up a couple of things which were later fixed and I have to thank an early reader who alerted me via email and saved me a bit of embarrassment and irritation regarding my carelessness.

I get out of bed – it is now nearly 7 and go about the rest of my morning routine, but running about 30 minutes later than usual. 59 days out of 60 I leave the house between 7:00 and 7:15 to walk Bella and am on my way to the office at 7:30 at the latest. Today’s timetable was different and as a consequence I got to see a whole new set of people in my morning rounds.

For me, when I walk the dog and walk to work days are much the same. I see the same people on the elevators, the same construction guys just starting their day at work. The traffic is light when I cross Bathurst Street. There are no lights at Niagara St. and I have to time my rush across the street to happen during a lull in the traffic.

Today’s walk was much different. 45 minutes late is a lot of time in morning minutes. Different people, different traffic patterns. But what happened on my morning walk will now need to be the subject of tomorrow’s blog as I have just ran out of time to finish this story today.