December 7 – “Morning”

Happy Birthday, Jay.  That's my older brother.  He was always the super smart guy who never really had to study, but wanted to.  He was also the guy who hated mornings when we were growing up.  Well, I'm not sure if it was so much that he hated mornings or that he hated my personal contribution to his mornings.     Hey, I can't help it.  I have always liked the mornings.  As a kid it meant there was a good chance I would get to play some baseball.  And barring that, as in the event of rain, I could at least spend some time rearranging my baseball cards.  And if that ever got done (hey, that's still not done) I could always find good old Jay and torment him a little bit.  That is until he exploded and screamed for Mom to make me shut up.     That was the key, I guess.  I loved to talk.  Or sing – badly.  Or make noises like trucks or trains or hurricanes or baseball umpires calling someone out, which usually resulted in an argument, which in turn usually led to a bench-clearing brawl.  It wasn't easy making all those sounds myself, either.  That's why sometimes I enlisted my little brother Stan to help.  Not that he totally realized what he was helping with, or even that he was helping at all.  Like I said, I just enjoyed the sound of voices in the air, even if it meant one of the voices was of a young child whining.  Ah, bliss.  Noise.    I don't think I had any particular psychological problem that caused me to fear silence.  Although both my brothers, and several friends, and a few total strangers, have accused me of being just a touch more than a little crazy at times.  I don't think those brotherly concerns have waned very much over the years, either.  I don't think they would call me the black sheep.  They just wonder if I am a sheep at all.  That's why they always told me I was adopted, I guess.     I still like morning, though for slightly different reasons.  The main one is: after I get started moving around – always a chore with the arthritis.  Usually takes about an hour – I just feel better in the morning.  I can get more work done between six and eleven in the morning that any other time.  Besides, by the early afternoon I get extremely tired and can't focus on much of anything.  If I can stop and rest for awhile I'm OK the rest of the day.  If there is no rest, there is not much fun.    So give me the morning any day.  Oh, and again, Have a nice EVENING Big Brother.   Revelation 22:16 says, "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star."   Father, I for one sure do thank you for the mornings.  That means there is one more of your days that I can live and see what you are up to.  Amen.