I am by nature a morning person. I have always enjoyed getting up at the start of the day. I have no desire to linger in bed once I am awake. It seems to me that I can always take a nap if I need more sleep. This personality trait has served me well throughout my life. As a college student I was able to have the job of opening the library as my work study position. This meant that I would arrive at the library building, unlock the doors and turn on the lights. I would process the books that had been returned in the night deposit box, but I didn’t have to shelve them because I was responsible for the front desk and keeping my eye on the door. I could do some filing in the card catalogue while watching the door, but the reality was that my work chores were light. I was being paid for my presence as much as for the accomplishment of certain tasks. As long as the doors were open and the lights turned on at the same time every day, I was free to sit at the desk. I was able to do some reading. Often this was the best time for me to catch up on reading which was an important part of my education.

As a pastor, my colleagues would occasionally complain about all of the interruptions in their work days. When they wanted to concentrate on sermon preparation, letter writing, or other tasks, the stream of people needing various types of conversation made it difficult for them to get time for work. Some of my colleagues had a work day when they didn’t come into the church office. Others had a secretary tell visitors that they were not available. I could simply arrive at the church before people came in. Most of the time I could get a couple of hours each day for the things that required uninterrupted focus. I developed the practice of going through my sermons to an empty sanctuary. Some weeks I would sit in the pews and imagine worship from the perspective of the congregation.

My tendency has served me well in my marriage and family life, too. Because my wife is a bit of a night owl and I’m an early bird, we could cover for each other at the ends of the day. Each of us also had some private time built into our day. We were also blessed with one child who was a night owl and the other who was an early bird, so we could allow our children to live into their natural rhythms knowing that there would be a parent available when they were awake.

At first our retirement lifestyle didn’t seem to fit my early bird tendencies. When we were working and living in South Dakota, I would often rise when it was still dark, take a canoe to the lake and watch the sunrise from the surface of the water. I attempted to do that here, but getting on the water means shifting one’s schedule to the ebb and flow of the tide. If I wanted to paddle at the same time every day, I would end up having to portage my boat over the wide mudflats of low tide on occasion. I couldn’t seem to get my sleep patterns adjusted to the cycle of the tides. Some days when I get up the tide is in. Other days it is out. Both have their beauty, but favor those who view from the shore as opposed to those who venture out on the water. Mariners around here adjust their activities to synchronize with the tides.

With time, however, as I relaxed into retirement, I learned to sleep in a little bit. I also developed other habits for the beginning of my day. I tended to exercise outdoors a bit less in the early morning. I spent a bit more time in my recliner reading poetry. I added a few yoga poses to my morning devotions.

Recently, however, I have obtained a slightly used but new to me electric bicycle. The bike enables me to cover more territory and venture farther from home than was the case with my other bike. It is also equipped with a powerful headlight and a bright flashing tail light to make me visible when I ride. I also have a bright high visibility vest that I wear when riding the bike. This enables me to bike over the hill to a spit of land at the edge of Drayton harbor where I have the Salish sea to the west and the harbor to the east. When I venture there in the morning, I have been treated to some very beautiful sunrises, including a few over the water of the harbor.

While I am content that I am living on the sunset coast in the sunset of my life, I find that I am still a big fan of sunrises. And, in general, sunrises occur a bit later here with the mountains to the east which gives me a bit more laid back lifestyle than was the case when I was working. I have even taught myself to linger in bed for five or more minutes upon waking to reflect and get my bearings before standing up.

The truth is that we are surrounded by beauty. To view the northern lights one has to be awake in the middle of the night. There are days when the mountains are bathed in pink at sunset as the snow reflects the setting sun. There are gorgeous sunsets over the bay. But there are also misty mornings with the sun burning off the fog and revealing the land, a gorgeous morning alpenglow as light fills the land before the sun appears over the mountains. There is much to behold at each time of the day.

The rainy season is coming. There will be days when I won’t feel like going for a bike ride first thing in the morning. There will be other days when I will need to put on rain clothes in order to ride my bike. But for now, I am reveling in the blessing of calm morning bike rides and the beauty of the place I am learning to call home.