Awake Early: Me and Magritte

Original post date= 10/15. I have a room in my house, an addition on the back that has windows on all three sides. It's like an enclosed deck; it's all windows. As sunrise is getting later, I get to be up to watch it get lighter. I love that because it means I'm up early, in the comfort of my own home, getting stuff done- I consider blogging to be productive.

This morning I crept out of bed, crept into the kitchen- I have to creep to avoid waking the dog, who'll want to go out, which will ruin the flow of my morning writing- and looked out the back window. Perfect timing. Sun nowhere near up, but creeping from behind the trees- making a blue background that backlights the trees to make them black. My neighbor's kitchen light was on; someone was awake with me. That's my kind of morning. If it's not summer, I'll take fall, with a crisp in the air, black trees, and sun on the way.

The line between night and morning reminded me of my first few years of teaching when I'd get up early to go in to get ready. Getting off the highway at 6, 610, 630 am, especialy in the winter, when it was officially dark, and entering the neighborhood near the school, I felt so grateful to the few houses with lights on. That meant other people were awake, and it made me feel less alone.

Working from home this year, I'm glad I'll get to experience more mornings like this. I'm a morning person, so what to some people is a terrible thought- waking up before sunrise- makes me feel like I'm starting my day off right.

Maybe this is why I loved the Magritte paintings I saw in Rome. He's famous for the picture of the man in the black bowler hat with the apple over his face, but he also has incredible paintings of houses and trees that are backlit just like this morning. He somehow captures that perfectly, and it's one of the many reasons (speaks French, has odd ideas) that Magritte is my favorite painter.

Thank you to the husband, who just walked the dog.