A whole new world

My son has a community college math class that meets at 7am 3 times a week. 7am!! The kid who hasn't been up before 10am for the last 2 years sets his alarm clock, has his book bag packed the night before, and is ready to head out the door at 6:30. That alone is stunning.

What is even more stunning are all the people who are out and about at 6:30 in the morning. I had no idea. The freeway is packed with heavy traffic. It isn't gridlock and isn't the frenzied panic traffic that we hit on the way home from his class at 8:30. I figure those are all the people who are worried about being late to work so ride your tail, accelerating to pass you and cutting you off when your lane ends. The 6:30am traffic is a more sensible, though sizable beast.

Starbucks is packed by 7am with a never ending line of 10-12 people. There are school kids with their parents, college students, and people dressed for work. As I write there is a little boy who asleep in one of the over-stuffed chairs. And Santa Claus just walked in wearing a bright aloha shirt festooned with tropical Santas. I may need more coffee...

As we get back to our neighborhood on the way home the elementary kids are heading to school. Another slice of life I've never experienced. Their backpacks are bigger than they are!!

6:30 to 8:30 am has been my quiet time for the last 11 years. If I'm up, I'm reading the newspaper, enjoying a quiet house. Or I'm out walking the dog or getting grocery shopping done before the family gets up. The grocery store is great in the early morning hours, although you have to dodge pallets of boxes while the shelves get re-stocked. And if you time it wrong on Monday morning, they haven't gotten around to restocking milk after the weekend rush so you have to make a second trip to get milk later in the day.

I was dreading this 3 times a week early morning routine, but it hasn't been bad at all. And it's been fascinating seeing how the rest of the world lives!