Awake?

After another night with very little sleep, I wanted desperately to keep sleeping. No luck!

And so, awake I was, early enough to watch the dawn come and light up the hill across the river in all its fall glory. In the process of putting away laundry, I walked past the western window at regular intervals, as if I was watching a time-lapse photo series. It was thrilling to see how the colors of the sky and the woods changed each time, growing more brilliant step by step.

Autumn Dawn, a quilt by Ann Brauer 

Baruch atah adonai eloheynu chey ha-olamim, hama'avir sheynah me'etna utnumah me'afapay. Blessed are You, the Awakener, Our God, who removes sleep from my eyes and slumber from my eyelids.

With gratitude, I open my eyes to see the beauty even when I might rather be asleep!