The Year is Complete!

Please feel free to look back through the 365 days of 2010 sunrises, but "a year of getting up to meet the day" is officially completed. There will be no more new posts.

PLEASE JOIN ME FOR MORE SUNRISE POSTS AT THE SUNRISE BLOGGER, WHERE YOU WILL FIND SUNRISE PHOTOS AND REFLECTIONS FROM ME AND FROM CONTRIBUTORS AROUND THE GLOBE.


Thank you so much for visiting.
A one year blog project in which I share a process of transitions: emptying of the nest, reacquainting with my rusty intellect, plowing onward with my first full length book, entering the second half of my first century, and generally reflecting on life.

(see Dec. 29th, 2009 entry for further explanation)

Friday, December 10, 2010

newcomer to adulthood (guest post)

sunrise (Maine):  7:02          blog time remaining:  21 days        
5 degrees Fahrenheit!

2 photos from here in Maine today:







With the publishing of this post my blog now has a guest entry from each of my four children.  The others contributed on June 9th, June 22nd, and Oct. 4th.  I am very grateful to all of them, and pretty proud of their contributions, not just to my blog, but to the wide world.

sunrise in Denver (yesterday): 7:09

GUEST POST FROM A:

In January, the idea of getting up to watch the sunrise was, at best, horrifying. I was still living the life of a college student: working until 1am, sleeping until 10am. Or 11am. So when my mother asked me to do a guest blog post, I wasn’t sure that it was going to happen. Then, a couple of weeks ago, I called my mom on the way to work: “What are you doing up so early??” She asked me. I looked at the clock. 7:00am. Just like every morning since I started my Americorps position as a reproductive health teacher. That was when I realized that getting a look at the sunrise in Denver wouldn’t be such a difficult task. I had been unknowingly watching it rise most mornings for the last few months.



It’s funny how our lives can change so quickly without our awareness, or consent. Of course, it was a chore the first couple of mornings to get out the door by 6:45 or 7am, but after those first couple of days, the weeks and months suddenly fly by. I guess I’m learning what it means to be an adult: someone who does the same thing every day.



It’s not so bad, really. I used to wonder how my parents had gotten so old – I mean, how does that even happen to a person?? I feel like I’m starting to understand now, but I think that part of understanding what it means to grow up is also accepting how little you can know what it will be like 5, 10, 20 years from now. I feel as if I’m standing at the end of a familiar path, looking ahead, but for the first time in my life I have no reference for what the next few steps will hold. I just have to keep walking.











I’ve included a few pictures of the Denver skyline, which might disappoint a few. The mountains do not dominate in the way that we East Coasters imagine. They are there, in the background, slowly changing with the seasons, from brown to white.

2 comments:

  1. pretty pretty. I really hope that being an adult doesn't mean doing the same thing every day. I think that's my goal - to be an adult that doesn't do the same thing every day.

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  2. That is an interesting supposition about adulthood. I think school children kind of do the same thing every day, and college kids too. Like school, a lot of jobs may bring you to the same location most days, but so many different things may happen every time you go. It's not so bad. Then you have evenings and weekends and vacation time to follow your bliss.

    Then again, it's easy for me to say, perhaps. I haven't had the obligation to get up and go to a workplace every day for a long time. But there are benefits to having a workplace community that I wish I had!

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