The soft glow of blue light at dawn. Breathing, meditating, savouring the silence. The first literal early birds singing to first light. The world in half slumber yet gently waking. The only sounds are my fingers hitting the keyboard, a calming rhythm to warm up and wake up to. I sip on my morning coffee, the aroma of fresh roasted beans bathing my senses, awaking my spirit to the possibilities of a new day, a new life ahead. 

My chronotype transformation is now complete, as I write this at six in the morning, after having woke since five. I guess parenthood has a quietly disruptive way of inducing change, even in areas where I weren’t seeking any. Actually even before becoming a parent, I found my chronotype shifting already, out of wanting to get adequate sleep for health reasons. Now, it is to get some quiet me-time, before the hectic schedule of the day starts. In fact, staying up at night had always been about quiet me-time as well, so the objective didn’t change, just the timing. But the experience is altogether a different one. With staying up, there’s always the nagging thought that I got to get to bed at some point, that I might not get enough sleep if I take it too far. But no such thing with waking early. The whole day, laid out before me, all for my taking, and I’m taking more of it by taking it early. 

Almost feels like I’d already won, just by starting early.