Mornings

I had always been a late riser before coming here. I used to have erratic sleeping habits and used to be groggy early in the mornings, if ever I woke up. It all changed once I had a job. Catching the office bus meant I had to wake up at around 6 AM every day and initially, for a few months, it was nightmare. But of late, I have grown used to being “early to bed, early to rise” It still is a little difficult during these winter months but since I almost always have sufficient eight hours of sleep, I feel fresh in the mornings and raring to go :)

There is a pattern which is followed every morning. It still is a race against the time, freshening up, getting ready, packing lunch, and almost always ending up running till the bus stop which is just a few steps away from home. Most of the times, I have a minute or two before the bus arrives at the stop which is nothing but the shade of a small tree.

There are a few people who share my mornings.
‘A’ who always reminds me of the little but important things I need to take along and mostly forget to - like my jacket or my ID card or sometimes even my lunch!
Two little girls wearing cute pin-o-forms and scarves, waiting for their school bus standing beneath a huge may-flower tree, directly opposite of mine and across the road, carrying bag packs which seem to me to be heavier than they themselves!
A man who takes his five huge pet dogs for a walk - I used to gawk at the size of them and feel slightly intimidated by their approach, and may be he noticed this one day and started smiling at me, and since then he smiles every time he passes by me, and now whole group seems friendly :)
An old woman who sweeps the street - she never seems to look at anything other than the litter and dust on the street. She walks wearily, head down, determined to sweep the pavement, gather the dirt, put it in her bin and move on. She seems indifferent of the weather, of the people and of the regular hustle bustle around her. When she looks up, she is careful not to make an eye contact – like most people.
And then there is this teammate who passes by my desk, arriving right after me – I am usually the first one to reach office in my bay- and who has never once forgotten to wish me, “Hello Divya, Good morning!” and even his line doesn’t change.

These are the people who share my early mornings. I don’t know a few of them, but they are important since they occupy the beginnings of my day :)

I make sure nothing related to office or home enters my head for the few minutes I spend beneath the tree and an hour I spend in the bus. I notice the people, the weather and the pattern. The wind is crisp at this time of the year or sometimes slightly damp. When it is crisp, it rubs off my skin harshly causing goose bumps :) and when it is damp, it drips from the leaves of the tree as moisture. Both times, it is fresh and new, just like my day :)

I love my mornings now. They reassure me that no matter what changes occur in my life, some things will always remain constant. Cute little girls will keep waiting for their school buses, people will keep taking their dogs for a walk, and someone will resolutely keep cleaning up the mess that we made the previous day and at least one person at office will wish me a nice day every morning :)

May be, this post was a way of mentally preparing myself for the change that is to come, to reassure myself and feel comfortable and casual of it and look forward to a new routine and a new pattern. I’ll write on the change itself and its effects in sometime to come, but until then, I am praying for it to be for the better :)

In need of your good wishes,
Divya