Morning Routine
by Tanner Olson
writtentospeak.com

There isn’t much that happens before the sun rises and that’s why it’s my favorite time of the day.

My thoughts are slow and still as my mind begins to wake up, stretching its legs before running a hundred miles an hour.

Today, there is much to think about and over think and re-think, but not yet.

I roll out of bed and walk slowly through the house trying to not make a sound or wake anyone up.

After murder, the worst thing you can do is wake someone up before they are ready.

I tiptoe into the living room and throw my hands in the air, reaching for the sky, before bending over to touch my toes.

I didn’t grow overnight, but they somehow got further away.

Some days I get hung up thinking about how the things I used to be able to do I no longer can.

The list continues to grow long.

Sleeping through the night, running without growing tired, staying out after 9 PM, feeling okay after eating gluten or dairy.

There is more, but I don’t want to get depressed this early in the day.

I drink water and feel my dry bones come back to life.

With every long sip I can hear them say, “Ah! That’s the stuff!”

I move my fingers like I am about to play the world’s greatest piano piece.

Something by Beethoven or Chopin, but I don’t.

We don’t have a piano and I’ve never learned how to play, but I am an expert at air piano.

I’ve never missed a note.

I sit down at the kitchen table.

To my right is a big window that faces West, but for now I see nothing but darkness.

The night still has the light under arrest.

Before I go any further I close my eyes and breathe in deep and exhale as I open my hands and picture myself sitting with God.

I don’t know what God looks like but today my mind sees God as an older man with dark and worn skin.

Thick like leather, but inviting like a father.

He’s sitting across from me at the kitchen table where a small bowl of gardenias are in the center asking to be smelled.

They smell like Florida, my personal heaven.

God is drinking hot coffee out of a 10 ounce mug that is smeared with blues and green.

It’s like He’s holding the whole world in His hands.

I smile the way I smile when I can’t help but smile.

The left side of my face stays still, but the right corner of my mouth crinkles into my cheek.

My eyes squint and you can see the crows feet around my eyes.

They’ve been there for years, stomping the skin making you believe I am older and wiser than I am.

I crack the silence of the house and say to God, “Thank you.”

Sometimes that’s all that needs to be said.

Sometimes there is more.

But right now that’s all that needs to be said.

I’m learning to be okay with saying less.

I’m also learning to sit still with the silence.

I used to not be able to do this.

I needed the noise.

I needed to move.

I needed to move and make noise at the same time.

I needed to distract myself from the beauty of simply being.

But now this is what I wake up early for.

My mind drifts and I pray inside my head, trusting God hears what I think.

A silent prayer can be quite loud.

The light is beginning to touch the trees and the grass as it seeps through the back window.

My mind begins to take another step and I do my best to slow it down.

I again close my eyes and breathe in deep and exhale as I open my hands.

Another day begins.

With hope,

Tanner Olson
@writtentospeak

About the Author

Tanner Olson is an author, poet, speaker, and podcaster living in Nashville, Tennessee.

He is the author of I’m All Over the Place, As You Go, Walk A Little Slower, and Continue: Poems and Prayers of Hope.

You can find Tanner Olson’s books on Amazon.

His podcast is The Walk A Little Slower Podcast with Tanner Olson and can be found wherever you listen to podcasts.

Tanner Olson travels around the country sharing poetry, telling stories, and delivering messages of hope.

You can follow Tanner Olson on Instagram (@writtentospeak) and Facebook where you’ll daily find encouraging words of faith and hope.