Night Owl

This weekend I was in Los Angeles, with the in-laws. It was fine, though mostly for my husband than for me. One thing I did notice is how much I adore the night (the sister-in-law has a great view of the valley).

I am a self-confessed night owl. If you know me at all, you will not find this surprising in the least. I do wonder why this is?? Is there something in our genetic make-up that predisposes us to staying up late or getting up early?? I can stay awake till 2 or 3am in the morning with ease. I love that time of night after 11pm; when it seems the world has gone to sleep and you are awake. Its so tranquil, so calm. Its my favorite time of the day. Is that unusual? Well, I don't care!

How can I describe what I feel in those hours? I suppose what I enjoy most is that it is my time, everyone else is asleep. I can do what I want, as a child I could escape through books and today through a combination of books and the Internet. Even in Denmark, night was my favorite time, I would sometimes open the window and just lean out and stare at the canal down the street, relishing in the fact that it was midnight and I was living in beautiful Copenhagen.

Heck part of the appeal for me working at the amphitheater in my Virginia hometown every summer is that we always get out after 11:30pm and I love driving through Manassas at night, its one of my favorite trips to make (from the amphitheater to mom and dad's house). Everything seems so nice, in place, with no problems.

Night for me is when the clear waters come upon my soul and give me time to rest from the worries of the world, to relish in being alive.

In fact if I was Emily from the play, Our Town and given one opportunity to visit something from my past, it would be that night in Delhi, when my uncles and my aunts, my mum and my grandparents (both Nana and Nani), were alive, sitting one level below me (in my grandparents house) out on the veranda, laughing and talking. It was late at night. All of us kids were on the upstairs rooms/veranda, supposedly sleeping (but of course as a night owl, I wasn't). My cousins and sister were fast asleep and I could hear the laughter and conversation belowstairs clearly. Down the street, someone was playing music from a Bollywood film, one of my favorites. The sky was so clear, a few stars. I felt so contented.

I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day. ~Vincent Van Gogh


ps - and yes, I am NOT a morning person, a later post to come on how I hate the morning!