Day 4, December 7, 7:03 a.m.

They say nature will out, which for me means my night owl roots are showing. For absolutely no reason—other than biology—I couldn’t fall asleep until well after midnight last night. Which is normal for me. But makes for a perfectly abnormal morning for someone who is not naturally a morning lark. It was a slog to pull myself out of bed, and even more of a challenge to put on my big girl pants and boot myself out the front door. But I’m glad I did.

It’s really interesting getting to know the nuances of dawn. If you’ve known me for a long time, you will know that I am a longtime connoisseur of sunsets. But sunrises? Not so much. Most of the sunrises I have seen in my life have been wildly accidental. Maybe I had a flight to catch. Or back in my wild days sometimes I would see one upon toppling out of the club. It was always stunning, but also always accidental.

What I’m learning from mornings is that the days in the winter feel shorter if you sleep in. I know. Revolutionary! But bear with me. If you are the sort of person who wallows in their disregard for mornings, it’s extremely possible to not see much of a day’s daylight hours. If you get up at 8 … or 9, and then stay inside until midday, you might only see four or so hours of sunlight, which, yeah, feels short. So I will beg your indulgence as I wonder at these extra hours of winter light. They feel miraculous as we head toward the Solstice. It already feels like I’ve learned something. And it’s only day 4. #MeetingMorning