Waking up in the city

Watching the city come alive in the morning is a special treat that I often get to enjoy. Viewed from my balcony, or from walking the empty streets, it is an experience most people up at this hour take for granted. But who can blame them really? Too busy to smell the flowers. Rushing for that one streetcar that will get you to work on time. Feeling the drudgery of yet another day. Hugging that warm cup of coffee that will give you the first of many boosts. Is it Friday yet?

Yet the sun reflects from the office towers to the east with its first rays touching the surface of the city. A warm and welcoming pink glows from the clouds. Birds start their songs and take to the skies from their sleeping places in groups, feeling the sharp morning air and looking for their first meal. The noise level on Queen Street West is at first quiet. Then slowly it raises as more streetcars travel on the steel tracks, and the cars start to come awake with their masters at the wheel heading towards their destinations. A city man with its bright reflective yellow jacket, sweeps the sidewalk. Construction cranes are already moving their heavy loads. The beeps from a truck backing up can be heard echoing and bouncing off the faces of the buildings. Car horns. Metal pipes hitting the ground. Screakie streetcar breaks. It is a slow cadence that if one listens for it, can give you the feeling of a city waking up. But it’s not just a feeling. The city is waking up. And somewhere out there, some lucky pigeons are enjoying a fat piece of banana bread.

I’ll be part of this process in a short little while. I’ll be just another human, following the daily routine that gets one to work. It sounds boring yet not always. You do the same thing every day. Some days its easier then others. Some days you don’t want to leave the warmth of your bed, the softness of your pillow, the tender touch of your partner. You hit snooze a few times hoping for a little more blissfulness, the return to the dream you were just having. One more sweet embrace…

But you get up. You belong out there too. You have a place to take, a part to play. Soon you’ll be in it. Soon you will struggle to remember what right now feels like. Soon you will be standing in the crowded street car, reading your book, listening to your ipod or alone with your thoughts. Soon you’ll be at your desk, or behind your counter, saying good morning to your co-workers or customers. Knowing that they too have gone through their own struggles to get up and be here in their own way. Different yet the same.

The day has started. There is new hope in the air, a smile on your face. Get out there.