Early Rising

The story is the same, but each year has its revelation. This year's was something I've noticed before but not with as much intensity:

On the first day of the week,
Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,
while it was still dark, 
and saw the stone removed from the stone.

 "Early in the morning." "While it was still dark." Of course!  She was up in the wee hours tending to those who needed her. It's how most women I know make everything work, by getting a head start on the day.

I no longer juggle a job with young children, but I'm always trying to balance competing duties, to find time not just for the work for which I'm paid but the work for which I'm not. Time for family and friends; for shopping, cooking and cleaning; for emails and phone calls; for connection and solitude.

The early morning hours are my ally in this quest. They are the great elastic clause. They are when I catch up with others — and with myself.