It’s very dark at 4 AM.

I know this because this past month I have been waking up early.  Very early.  In the summers, when sunrise out west begins around 5, I become a temporary morning person.  A morning person who knows she can spend a few minutes each afternoon napping on the dock.

Since I have never willingly been a Winter Morning Person, I don’t really know what to do with all that dark, cold, extra time.  It’s not as if Banjo Man wants to be awakened in the middle of the night by the screeching sound of my fiddle or the unloading of the dishwasher or the banging of pots, pans and crock pots.

Yesterday, for example, I tiptoed down to the basement and exercised for an hour and a half.  Watched the news.  Read my latest British thriller.  Drank decaff coffee.  Ate a protein bar.  Took a bath.  Scrubbed the tub. Painted my toenails.  Downloaded pictures.  Ripped some cd’s.  Worked on the new book proposal.  Emailed one of my editors.  Cleaned out a bathroom drawer and threw away old make up.  Sorted twenty years of necklaces into individual ziploc bags.  Answered email.  Wrote a blog post.  Paid bills.  Made a list for Walmart.

And then said good morning to Banjo Man, who thinks I’m officially insane.

If this 4 AM business keeps up, I’m going to get a lot of writing done and have a very clean house.   Which will be fine with me, once I become accustomed to this new lifestyle.

You morning people out there, what do you do at dawn????