N is for Night

Photo Credit: Doree Weller

Photo Credit: Doree Weller

I’m a night owl.  Don’t get me wrong; I’ve seen my fair share of sunrises, and there are days I like mornings, but for the most part, I feel my most creative and alive at night.

For me, there’s nothing like sitting alone at night with my laptop or a notebook, and writing.  I love the quiet stillness of night.  Sometimes I imagine that I’m the only person who’s awake, which isn’t a bad thing when I’m staying awake on purpose.  (Though I hate it when I wake up at 3 a.m. and can’t get back to sleep.)

I love writing horror, and something about night makes everything scarier, makes it easier to imagine the bogeyman.  One of my favorite villains as a kid was Freddy Krueger, the original master of the night.  The night becomes like a living thing.

At night, no one I know is on Facebook and Twitter, so even the internet “quiets” down.  I can unplug, without actually unplugging.

That’s one of the reasons I love camping.  When we camp, night is allowed to fall naturally.  We light a campfire, not to keep the darkness away, but because that’s what people do in the dark.  While we might chatter on under electric lights, enveloped by the night, the pace seems slower, more contemplative.

I love watching the stars and the moon, and seeing a shooting star is always a wonderful bonus.

Do you prefer night or day?

Weekly Photo Challenge: Let There Be Light

Sunrise, Cottonwood AZ; Photo credit: Doree Weller

Sunrise, Cottonwood AZ; Photo credit: Doree Weller

This is actually such an appropriate topic for me.  Last week, I changed jobs.  I used to work noon to 10, and I now work 8-4:30.  Talk about a culture shock!  I get up at 6 a.m., and it isn’t even light yet.  I believe that every morning so far, I’ve made a comment about getting up in the middle of the night.  Over my 4 day weekend, I made an effort to get up no later than 7.  I’m not a good sleeper, and I try to keep a schedule as close as possible.

One morning, I had to leave extra early, which I was less than pleased about, and I got to see a beautiful sunrise, which reminded me that there’s always something to be grateful for.  This isn’t that sunrise, but it’s still pretty.

Weekly Photo Challenge