My best days are the ones where I get up early.

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Its not uncommon for me to climb out of my warm bed at 430am, leaving Kevin, Gus and Marlow behind snoring. I wouldn't be so bold as to say I leap out of bed at that time, it is more of a roll and thump, but I know that my best time of day awaits me outside of the duvet. The knowledge that I will be glad that I get up, even if I never want to is the motivation I need.



I pad down the steps and try to avoid stepping on Pancakes the cat who awaits me, hungry, at the bottom of the stairs. I make coffee, feed the cats, unload the the dishwasher, fold the laundry, answer emails, write newsletters...all to the soundtrack of silence, something that I appreciate this year more than I ever have. As the coffee percolates through, I begin donning the layers I need to head out and do my outside chores, checks and feedings. My goal most mornings is to have the chores done and orders packed before the rest of the day starts at 9am. Sometimes it works.

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I have always been an early bird. When I was in the 1st grade, my teacher, Mrs Westercamp, called my mother in to talk to her. There were two major issues that needed addressed-- I refused to wear socks and I fell asleep every afternoon in class at precisely 2pm. I don't have an explanation for the socks (though I can now be convinced to wear socks for at least 6 months of the year), the mid afternoon naps were because I would get up most mornings at 330am, ready for the day ahead.

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Mornings are where I shine, I plan the days meals, start cheese, layout my next business plan, muck out the barn, have endless energy for what lies ahead. And while I would like to say that my early rising tendencies make me a productivity powerhouse, akin to other early risers like Michelle Obama, the truth is that it doesn't make me anything other than the morning milker and coffee maker. Yes, I have a lot to show for my early mornings by the nature of my work and life, anything I gain at 5am when I sit down with my laptop and a cuppa is lost from about 5pm, when I start the slow slide into evening, dinner and bed. My family takes over then - dishes and chores, that last load of laundry for the day, the bread that needs stretching - sometimes a series of alarms are set to remind them of everything that needs to be done after I disappear.

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I used to fight it. I bought into the grind culture - my value was a direct correlation to how far I got on my todo list. But if 7 years (this week!) of Gartur has taught me anything, its that the todo list never actually ends. No matter how hard we push ourselves, projects will drag on, the weather will stop us, new emails will come in to replace the old ones I just cleared and me climbing back into bed at 8pm on a cold winter's night isn't going to change that.

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All I can do is get up again the next morning and try again.

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Stay warm and well,

Kat