4:00 AM

Sunrise - Summer 2013

Monday morning. 4:00 AM. I am wide awake. The alarm isn't due to sound off for another hour. I want to stay in bed but as I lay still in the dark beneath my covers telling myself that it's cozy and warm here, why would I want to get up, I can hear the mumbling in the back of my brain that is already beginning to catalog my every growing To Do List.


I close my eyes and roll over. I decide to stay in bed just on principle. One of my cats has become alert to my wakeful state and has jumped on the bed purring. She begins to knead herself a nest right next to my chest. She nuzzles my cheek seeking affection. I push her away, “It's too early,” I mumble. She circles and purring settles in against me, purring, purring, purring, purring...


Determined to not get up I pull the covers to my cheek, take a deep breath and exhale willing myself to relax. I drift for a moment but then realize my right foot is chilly. It has worked it's way out from under the covers. I pull it in beneath the blankets. This shift of my lower limb brings my knees into contact with each other and shifts my hips. I realize that to stay in this position will mean that my left foot will soon fall asleep.


I roll over, trying to not disturb the cat. As roll my blankets travel with me; my sheet remains pinned beneath the cat. My entire backside begins to feel the morning chill. I wiggle and shift to slide my blankets back into place. This results in a slight smothering of the cat who wakes and walks across my pillow to sit in front of me (purr, purr, purr, purr, purr...). She meows once.


One open eye catches the light of the clock. 4:21 AM. I wonder how long it is until sunrise. I reach for my phone and quickly check. 6:37 AM. I could get up, write, have coffee and then walk to view the sun coming up over the bay. I switch to my weather app to see if the sky is clear enough to watch the day begin. No, I think to myself. Sleep. Sleep is what you need.


I set the phone on the night stand and close my eyes. I begin to drift. A single paw taps me gently on the cheek. Meow. Purr. Purr. Purr. A second tap, followed by a head butt. Meow. I realize the cat's motivation has switched from affection to breakfast. Tap, tap.


Tap.


Tap.


4:27 AM. I give in. Sunrise, here I come.