"On a much lighter note..."

After turning my alarm off for the third and final time, it was a quiet morning. Perhaps my only motivation to emerge from the cozy flannel of my bed was the promise of a grapefruit I bought the day before. It was an impulse buy, but I knew its bright smell and mouth-cleansing tartness would be what I needed to get over my post-weekend, “Seriously? I’m getting up for work again?” incredulity. I also thought that by throwing something out of my regular weekday morning routine, like turning off the Today Show and leaving the cereal box in the pantry, the day might seem more exciting.

I wouldn’t say it was more exciting, but it was pretty darn nice. Al Roker’s forecast and Meredith Viera’s completely inappropriate story segues weren't punctuated by my loud cereal chomps. Nope, the early morning television news and political ads were left to be found by other viewers. Instead, I took pictures of my breakfast and enjoyed the sounds of the heater kicking in. I read the Dining & Wine section of the NYT, 21st-century-style, on my phone. Joel joined me at the table and read Time. I drank all my coffee. Then I squeezed all the juice out of my grapefruit and drank it, and wished I hadn't been drinking so much coffee (horribly acidic combo). Even so, it was just the brightest way to begin a cloudy Monday morning.