Racing the sun

I've always had a hard time getting up early in the morning, but when I do I never regret it.  There are so many little rewards in beating the sun out of bed, and it's the little things that matter most.  It's not money, or possessions, or recognition, or even having control over one's life that make living so joyful--it's spending time with the people you care about; the smell of spring on the cool air; a sunrise over the mountains, and being awake to see it.  If life and society were to crumble in such a way that I would lose everything else, there would still be the sunrise.