Mornings And The Sunrise

I am not a morning person. I admit it. I am not one to jump out of bed, sing a song, welcome the day and whistle while a bird sings along with me on my shoulder.

I wish I were. Well..I would like to be.

I have never been.


I have always been a heavy sleeper and a night person. My mother was the one singing songs to welcome the day, ripping off the covers so I would freeze and turn the light switch on and off over and over until she woke the dead (me). Even when I was a child, the waking up part was hell. Then it was even worse when I had to sit next to my father for breakfast and he would eat grape nuts. I don't think there is a reason to eat that cereal unless you want to annoy the person sitting next to you with all of the crunching going on. In fact, I don't think you are able to hear anything when you eat that cereal. Maybe that was the point. There is nothing like two "morning haters" sitting next to each other annoyed by everything while my mother would sing away, skipping around the house.

Things haven't changed much. Well, my mother isn't around to turn the lights on and off, but people close to me know to wait until I have been up for a while to speak to me...ok, that sounds horrible. I am not painting a good picture here. I am not THAT bad, really.

My former boss and I had a deal that he wasn't allowed to call me before 8am (for his own sake, really). I would get a phone call most mornings at 8am on the dot. Maybe it's a problem when I have to tell my boss not to call me before a certain time.

It's not that I can't do it. I did a fitness bootcamp class at 5:30am for six months before work each morning. I don't really know how I accomplished that, but I did. I think I was tired of the voices in my head debating on weather or not I was going to work out that night all day during work, or if I would be too tired...or fill in the blank for another good reason. At least when I worked out in the morning, I didn't have to think about it all day.

I've been telling myself lately that I need to get up to see the sunrise. I suppose my mind told my body that it was about time for me to get out of bed and get out of the house to see it this morning. After the head debate...I went out. It was beautiful. Peaceful. I walked along the shore and took pictures of the birds, the pier and then took a stroll to the dog beach to watch the pups play in the ocean for a while.

I am glad I did.

Lifeguard Chairs

I love lifeguard chairs.

Maybe it's because I used to be a lifeguard one summer a long time ago. It's not a glamorous job. You sit there hours on end watching people play in the water. At first it's fun, but after a while it can be a bit boring and annoying.

Perhaps I just didn't master the art of making sure people knew how to swim when they jumped in the pool. I figured that they would have some sort of life preserving skills before they took the leap. Not always the case.

I appreciate the fact that the life guard chair is always on duty even though the season has ended. It reminds me of summer days and gives me hope that the warm weather will come back soon. On most of their off duty days, people climb on them to get a better view of the sunset, relax from a run, do a photo shoot, or snuggle up together for a quiet moment. They serve a purpose even during the off season.

It's no wonder that I enjoy taking pictures of them...just sitting there, waiting for the season to start again.

On the East coast, they put away the chairs after Labor Day, but they are usually out all year long here on the West coast. Here is a collection of chairs I've taken on my travels. For more, click HERE