I love Early Mornings- Don't judge me

I adore the early morning. I don’t mind being a snot about it, but I feel accomplished waking before the rest of humanity to do something. Typically its writing, but I can be convinced of other morning pursuits if the time and temperature are right.

In college, there was a spell when I would swim every morning before class. Rain, snow, frigid wind or hail. By 7 am my sorry butt was in the pool. It was never a pretty sight seeing as though my strokes were bad, I lacked a swim cap and I was lucky if I could endure 1000 meters before k-oing.

The only reason I made those mornings was through the kind badgering of a friend. She would drive the 150 meters from her dorm to mine to pick me up in the golden bullet, her mini van born in the early 90s, attempting conversation while I shoved handfuls of Kashi down my throat to wake up.

Once standing physically next to the pool, it was sometimes too cold for either of us to jump in. Sans judgment, we would continue to babble to delay the task at hand. We always eventually jumped in. The shared obligation of doing something became the hand to our stubborn backs, ushering us forward like a prisoner to the guillotine.

I miss those mornings dearly. The camaraderie, the feeling of undeniable accomplishment when the session was over, even the arctic cold that steals your breath away when you first take the plunge.

But mostly, I just miss having my friend there. Right beside me, tackling the unpleasantries of life. The biggest adjustment to leaving the bubble, be it Williams or otherwise, is the newfound presence of absence. It’s a party of one my friend, so you better learn quickly how to start hanging out with yourself.

So this is an easy way to start your morning on your onesies and feel amazeballs about opening those peepers- whether its at 6 am or 12 pm- and you don’t need to share it with anyone.

Morning Mojo Smoothie

1.5 Cups of Frozen fruit- I use the Trader Joe’s Very Cherry Blend (high in Antioxidants and absolutely delicious)

Half a banana (frozen for thicker smoothie)

1 C spinach

1 Tbsp Nut Butter of Choice

Chocolate or Vanilla Almond Milk-Fill half to 3/4 of the way up

1. Dust off that Food processor hidden in your cupboard

2. Fill with the spinach first- It’s light and the heavier fruit will push it down to get a chunk-free smoothie. (Who wants spinach in the teeth before lunch time?)

3. Once all the ingredients are in the processor add your almond milk until it almost covers the fruit but not completely

4. Blend Thoroughly- About 3-4 minutes to prevent aforementioned chunkage