Whether at 5 am or 10 am, getting myself rousted out of bed each day is a chore at best, a headache often. It’s just not my time of day. Or at least, not my favored doorway into consciousness.

The morning itself often proceeds satisfactorily, once underway. My challenge is the gradual shift from dreams to lollygagging awareness to full upright position, and finally to a clear mind. This process is neither smooth nor quick.

So, if this is always going to be my particular problem, I’ll treat it like swimming in cold water. Rather than inching along into it, flinching at every step, just dive in! Get through it! Get it over with!

Then, transformed into a functioning being again, fire up another day.