It's five AM. Why am I up? I don't want to be up. But here I am. Laundry switched out. Dog fed and loved on. The cream ceramic coffee mug is warm on my fingers, and the hot drink feels good going down. Miss Emily woke at 4:42 this morning. There were too many people laying at too many odd angles to add a baby to the bed, so she and I moved to the futon. We snagged one of Smidge's blankets en route, since he was wrapped up in ours. I need to bring up more blankets.
She's out cold. Zorak's gone to work. The boys are sound asleep. Even the birds are quiet this morning.
I read a bit more of A Higher Kind of Loyalty, the memoirs of Liu Binyan. He was a journalist in China, chronicling the effects of two revolutions and the growing pains of the Communist Party over the years. His story is compelling. I have to take it in small chunks. It's difficult to wrap my mind around his ideologies, but the struggles he wrote of are universal, and worth remembering. So I sat with him a bit this morning, awed by the corruption power will nurture, saddened by the games played with other peoples' lives, awed by my gratitude for living here, now, and confirmed in my conviction against ever having to face those things in our home country.
Now I need to take a deep breath. Step back.
Drink more coffee, and look at sleeping children, and wonder what we will do today that will make a difference. Some differences are small. Some are large. The key is making them good, regardless of size.
John and I will read together. James and I will work on math. We'll talk more about legends and history, about heroes and truth. We'll try to wrangle out the precepts of a free society in terms you can understand when you're eight and six.
And there are curtains to make. Believe me, that luxury is not lost on me this morning.
We'll study, and work, and hope. Today is good. Tomorrow has the potential to be good.
I wish someone else was up right now. I'd love to have coffee. Talk. Brainstorm. Discuss something a little meatier than curtains and blankets. This is probably why I'm not usually up this early - all my great-conversation buddies only went to bed a few hours ago!
Fine. I'll go be productive. ;-)
Have a fantastic Tuesday!
Kiss those babies!
~Dy
3 comments:
Well if you are ever up between 12 am and 7 am you can always call me at work.lol Sometimes I go to sleep but wouldnt mind talking. Its neat you got some alone time to think and contemplate. Have a productive day :) The plumber is actually going to be here in a few minutes, lol Im scared.
Oh, don't you just love that peace and quiet in the wee hours of the morning? I went to bed very early last night and wanted to get up early for that very reason. Things didn't go the way I planned it and I ended up sleeping for more than 9 hours!! Yikes.
I'm gonna add that book to my reading list. It sounds like one I'd be interested in.
I hope you have a productive and *smooth* day. The littles and I are going to run some errands and take care of the Christmas tree this afternoon.
Those early morning hours are so peaceful. Not peaceful enough that I want to do it frequently, but still very wonderful.
Every time I read books about that time period in China I get so overwhelmed. It's too much to process, too far from my sheltered life, and too horrible to imagine. We are so blessed!
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