Peace

It is pre-dawn as I sit here hunched in front of my laptop while the rest of my family slumbers away in their rented beds. There was a time when I would have been sleeping along with them, not to wake for another hour at least. But since I started getting up at 5:15 in the morning to workout, "sleeping in" has come to mean 6 at the latest. "Staying up late" has also taken on a new meaning - I was out by 9:30 last night while Hubby and the kidlets watched movies on the hotel cable. I could lament this change in myself, and long for the days when I was  a night owl who didn't step slippered foot out of bed until 8 at the earliest, reveling in the feeling of being cocooned in my comforter. But I don't. I am growing to love the quiet moments I get in the morning before I head to the gym, and the amount of things I have accomplished by 8 a.m. is astounding.

So this morning, as I await the sunrise and our impending day at the local beaches of Fort Bragg, I listen calmly to the even breathing of my husband and children, thankful to have this time to center myself before the clamor that will accompany getting everyone dressed and fed and ready. I concentrate on the deep breaths I am drawing in, and think about the fun we will have today as we enjoy a much needed break from our world. I hope that some of you get to do the same.