Mornings

   I was never much of a morning person on land. My twenties and thirties were more often focused on staying up late in to the night, and mornings were more synonymous with hangovers than sunrises... Then came my forties and a different approach to life, and with that a sailboat, and with that... mornings. Mornings as I had never known them before.
   Pre-sailboat mornings were the alarm clock going off before dawn, and after a quick shower and coffee, a mad race on the interstate, along with all the other hundreds of thousands of people, all vieing to be the first person at the office, or on  the construction job site to outwork all the other men, for this is the metric upon which men are measured. Or it was the intrusion of a blaring sun on perfectly good sleep, neither of which were to be relished, they simply existed.
   On a boat, mornings are different.I generally leave the curtain off the window I sleep under, preferring to be awoke with the first gentle reddish-yellow light of the sunrise. A little frost on my breath making the covers seem all the warmer.. The smell of coffee and the feel of the beans crunching as I turn my hand grinder, and the welcome heat coming off the stove.
   I like my first cup off coffee in the cockpit, sipping as I watch the sun rising, and the harbor seals that come to investigate the boat.
   I have always loved sunsets. A time to relax and think on the day that has passed. But sunrise signals a new day, a new beginning. When on land it was time to contemplate work strategies, but on a boat it a whole different contemplation.. It is time to look at the clouds, feel the wind, and decide how to enjoy the day. A time of infinite possibilities and wonder, to contemplate what magic the new day will bring.