Mar 16, 2026, Monday, 5.30 am. Press enter or click to view image in full size The date itself feels ordinary, but the hour does not. 4.45 am, It is still dark outside when my alarm goes off, the house heavy with sleep. For a moment I am tempted to burrow back under the covers, but then I remember why I set the alarm in the first place: I like waking up early. I like it so much that it has slowly become one of my favorite parts of the day. What I love most is the silence. It is the calm before the storm of breakfast, school runs, meetings, and endless notifications. There is a certain kind of energy in the early morning quiet, a gentle hum that I can almost feel on my skin. I wake up before the world around me does, and in those first few minutes there is no demand, no noise, no tug-of-war for my attention. Just stillness. In that stillness, meditation comes easily. Once the kids and my husband leave for school and work, there is still some quiet time, but this particular hour feels different.…