Why "A View from the Middle"? Because my home sits on the middle of a hill overlooking a horse ranch. Because I've always considered myself "mid-height" for a woman at 5'2". And because I'm middle-aged looking back on half my life and forward to the rest of it.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Morning Ritual

January 14, 2010

What's your morning ritual?  Mine usually begins with the alarm going off at 6 a.m. and my husband hitting the snooze button at least twice.  I never "snooze" between the alarms.  I just lay there thinking of all the things I need to do for the day and dreading getting out from under the warm covers.

When I finally do get up, I head for the kitchen to make a cup of Chai tea or coffee.  Whichever I choose, it's decaf.  I never was a caffeine junky, and I gave up caffeine about 10 years ago.  I don't miss it.  I just like having the warm liquid with lots of milk.  It's one of the ways I get my calcium for the day.

While sipping my coffee or tea, I make my son's lunch.  He has a ritual too--he always has a peanut butter sandwich for lunch.  And, if I'm not mad at my husband, I make his lunch too.  Then I kiss my husband and son goodbye as they head off to work and school.

Next, I head for my computer.  I check emails, hoping for a thousand new inquiries--okay, at least a few signed contracts--on either of my businesses.  Then I look at the clock, realize in shock that it's been an hour since I sat down at the computer and not the 15 minutes I thought it's been, and run down to the barn to feed the animals.

If I have time, I stop by the garden to check on the latest veggies I'm trying to grow--right now it's lettuce and spinach.  Then back to the house for some exercise.  Usually I walk/run at least 30 minutes on my treadmill while catching up on a travel or home improvement show.

Then comes one of my favorite parts--a nice, long, very hot shower.

I won't bore you with the rest of my day--I've bored you long enough with this blog, if you've even bothered to read this far.  But the point is, it's nice to have a ritual to my day.  I haven't had a morning ritual much since I left the corporate world about six years ago.  And though you can practically make a commercial out of my morning routine, I cherish it.