It’s 11 p.m. on a Saturday night. I’ve consumed a bit (translate: a ton) too much coffee. If I were a car and coffee was gasoline, I’d be an SUV. My eyes are blurry from staring at the computer screen a little too long. And I’m thinking about…
Mornings.
‘Member when Gordan MacRae comes horse-ridin’ through the cornfield in Rogers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma? He belts out the musical’s opening number – “Oh What a Beautiful Morning.” Don’t know what I’m talking about? Never fear, YouTube’s here:
That clip doesn’t show it, but a few verses later, Shirley Jones comes out of a farmhouse not-so-thrilled with Gordan aka Curly’s morning solo. And I’m telling you, I’m with her there. I mean, Gordan’s dazzling tenor tones are plenty pretty, but save it for a few hours later, yeah? Mornings and me? Never really been best buds.
But, friends, I’m about to take a leap into morning madness. See, I’m on a quest to perfect my manuscript. Yes, I’ve revised the thing like 800 times already. (Okay, four times.) But this time…this time it has to be as on-pitch as Curly’s voice. And then it’s going out the door once and for all. My self-inflicted deadline: Friday, October 22.
But because life has taken a turn for the hectic lately, weeknights and weekends aren’t cutting it writing-wise. And since I can’t create time – alas, one of my many shortcomings, I’m afraid – I’ve decided I must buck up and, well, wake up. Earlier, that is. As in, 5 a.m. (Enter threatening music – da da da)
Yes. Henceforth, I shall arise at 5 a.m. every Monday-Friday and write/edit until 7 a.m. Thus, “creating” time. While also, sadly, losing sleep. (Enter sad face, baggy eyes and greater dependence on caffeine than ever before.) But it must be done.
And maybe by the time it’s all over, I’ll have converted to a morning person. And I’ll be the one riding a horse through cornfields during the wee hours singing happy songs. ‘Cept, I’d need to get a horse. And a cowboy hat. And a better voice. Hey, minor details compared to conquering the morning thing. Wish me luck!
*****
p.s. It was my birthday on Tuesday. (Guess how old I am and I’ll give you…a smile and a “good job.”) As my birthday present to myself, I took the day off work and traveled down to see my precious nephew Oliver. He’s had a rough week this week…thank you to all who have been praying for him and please, please keep it up!
Comments 4
I hope you have this photo framed so you can see it often. It’s precious. Yes, still praying.
I’ll commit to getting up at 5 a.m. with you, although I’m an hour ahead. I want to spend time doing my prayer journaling before I start my day. I let it slide to write…bad Lisa.
Yes, I definitely have that photo framed and in a prominent place at home. Although, I’m tempted to bring it with me to the office every day, too…thanks for the prayers!
I made it through my first 5-7 a.m. writing shift. Although those first few moments were tough, surprisingly, I was able to get into writing really fast. I suppose it’s because my mind was fresh…
So how are the mornings coming?? I would much prefer to stay up until 2. Anything written before lunch time is not going to be coherent, I’m afraid. Hope it’s going well for you!
Hey Jenness – last week, my 5 a.m. mornings went really well. Each night before going to bed, I planned what I wanted to work on in the morning, so all I had to do was wake up, grab a cup of coffee and start in.
Today, however, I slept until 6 a.m., so I only had an hour to work. Baaaad. Tomorrow I will get back on track. 🙂