The Sun Also Rises...

Some people are Night Owls. They can quilt, clean, party till the wee hours of the morning, and the next day they manage to function as if nothing had happened. I'm jealous of those people. Maybe I just don't have the stamina to do it.
But I think 0f myself as a Morning Person. I love to get up at the crack of dawn, put on my running shoes, and get out in the crisp, clear morning air. I love walking before the streets fill with people. I love watching the sun come up as I walk, little by little, over the mountains of Jordan in the distance.

Looking down into the forest as I walk, I can hear the falcons hunting for breakfast, their shrill cries piercing the air as they dive and swoop. Somewhere down there, the gazelles are grazing, the porcupines dragging their long quills in the dust. The family of wild dogs is waking up, the puppies starting to bark and cry for food.

Slowly the streets start to fill with activity: men heading for work or prayer, teenagers catching the bus to school, mothers sitting outside with their children waiting for the vans that will take them to kindergarten. By this time, the sun has climbed high into the sky, and I have finished my three miles. A new day has dawned over Jerusalem.