This morning, I had to be on campus by 6:15 am. While I don’t do it often, I enjoy heading to work when it’s still dark and my neighbors are just hitting their snooze buttons or their brew timers are turning on. The darkness of the morning, the lit streetlights and porch lights confuse the mind into doubting if it is morning. Maybe I got up in the middle of the night..maybe it’s late evening…maybe, no…it is morning?

As I drove to work across town, I realized the one thing I truly enjoy about heading to work at 5:45 am is the lack of traffic. There were only a few cars on Kellogg, which made for stress-free driving. No tailgating. No sudden lane changes without signals. No 50 mph drivers clogging up the fast lane. No merging into tight spaces.

Just me, my coffee, Aretha Franklin, and the darkness of an early morning. I should do this more often.