In the wee, small hours of the morning...

...is when I really get to dream.  

My morning ritual looks a little like this:

• Get up and let the puppies out.
• Start a mug of hot water in the microwave.
• Slice a fresh lemon.
• Let the puppies in and feed them.
• Plunk a bag of green tea into my mug.
• Steep.
• Add a slice of lemon to my tea.
• Hunker down and catch up on all the beautiful blogs that keep making beautiful posts for me to read.
• Dream.
• Maybe even write a blog post myself.
• Nibble on some breakfast.
• Dream a little more.
• Finish tea.

Now, my little morning ritual is a pathetic cry from the austere Japanese tea ceremony, but I definitely see value in a quiet ritual that allows you to center yourself before the craziness of the day.  No matter how early I need to be somewhere, I make sure I get up early enough to have a little "breather" before jumping in. I think I may have picked this habit up from my dad, he still gets up early to mull over a cup of coffee even though he's retired now!  (I think he may even go back to bed after his early morning cup!  Love that!)

Do you have any morning rituals that ready you for the day?

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