Happy Better Than the Alternative Tuesday, friends! I barely make it through Mondays this semester. 10+ hours of sitting in class feels like a death march. My brain hurts, my body hurts, and by the the end of the day, I don’t even want dinner.
I know. Shocking. I don’t want food? Something is deeply, deeply wrong with Mondays.
Pizza lasts exactly one day in my apartment.
Not even pizza sounds good, just sleep.
And then I woke up this morning and went for a run. It wasn’t a good run, I felt like crap. I was hungry (duh), tired, and even though I was trucking along at 8:15s most of the 7 miles, I felt like I was running through mud.
But I saw this on my run. This Sunrise over The Lake and Bow Bridge.
Good morning, my beautiful Park.
It didn’t change my pace or give me the energy to run faster, but just seeing this beautiful Sunrise was reward enough for getting up early.
When I was chained to the bed recovering in the hospital, I was on the 14th floor overlooking the East River. When the sun rose the day after surgery, I couldn’t help but to breath deep (as deep as my stitches would allow) and appreciate seeing that Sunrise.
It wasn’t a sunny morning and the view wasn’t even that great, but it was a sunrise I worried I wouldn’t see. And there was pudding.
Anyone who goes into surgery and tells you they aren’t scared is…not me. I was scared both times. Terrified, actually.
That Sunrise meant I made it through the operation. That Sunrise meant I got through a horrific night of pain. That Sunrise meant that Mrs. Obi-wan and JB would soon be by my side, keeping me from freaking out.
It wasn’t pretty, it didn’t have to be, it was just a new day and a new life starting.
My 2nd surgery Sunrise was far more spectacular. Same floor, same hospital, same staff (oy), different facing bed. Different perspective.
That’s what I like about running at Sunrise. It’s the ultimate symbol of a new day starting.
Just because today’s run was crap doesn’t mean tomorrow’s will be. Just because I’m dragging ass this morning doesn’t mean I will tomorrow. Just because my J-pouch hated me yesterday doesn’t mean it won’t love on me today.
Sunrise is my favorite symbol of starting over and the opportunity to do something different. I know it’s obvious and trite and cheesy, but it’s true.
Sunrise on the Brooklyn Bridge. (Image courtesy of MK Photography)
When I woke up from surgery, I was a new me and it was a new day. Those Sunrises were a new start to me. And they certainly made it better to be here, to wake up, to keep going, than not to. And I love that about those Sunrises and every Sunrise I get to see.
Happy BTAT, guys. What does Sunrise mean to you? Does it get you going or is it something you rarely see? Are you more of a sunset kind of person? Tell me all about it!
Now go out and run!
(I mean, it’s 40 degrees out there, NYers! Heat wave!)
Sunrise for sure! Even though sunsets are easier to see, the magic of the rise is incredible.
Well said!
Growing up in Washington, the sun rose over the mountains and set over the sea. I always see sunsets as infinite, stretching across the water, but sunrises suggest possibility to me because of that question – what’s on the other side of the mountains? What will today bring? I love both, but they’re surprisingly different.
I agree. In Colorado, sunsets were so spectacular (& I was never up early to see sunrises) but in the city, I just love the sunrise.
I love these photos!
Thanks, B! I didn’t even realize the reflection in the one til my brother noticed it. Very cool.
At college during my senior year, my room overlooked a lake, and since I had an east-side window, I could watch the sun rise every morning. Well, every morning I wasn’t out running. 😉 Like you wrote, Abby, to me, mornings signal a new day, a new beginning, which is one of the reasons I love them so much. 🙂
Thank you for sharing, Carrie.