In the wee small hours of the morning...

My husband keeps long hours; rising at 5 a.m., working until 6 (or later), into bed by 10.  One daily activity that keeps him cool, calm, and collected is meditation.

When we first met I was suspicious of TM.  I worked as the managing editor of my college newspaper and frequently received press releases from Maharishi International University in Fairfield, Iowa, touting meditation as the route to curing all the world's ills and featuring meditators who "fly."  (This is basically a feat of athleticism - sort of a cross-legged jump a few feet into the air). 

While I still hold a healthy dose of skepticism for the most radical claims of TM, what I do know is that daily meditation makes my husband feel relaxed, invigorated, and ready to face the challenges of his day.

These days, however, he doesn't meditate alone.  Wally and Gus join him in this daily search for Nirvana.  The three of them snuggle up together on the couch, wrapped in homemade blankets, finding their inner peace.  It's quiet and warm in the darkness, though sometimes there's quite a bit of snoring from the two youngest meditators.

Sometimes the cats even pile on for a little TM - those are Henry's whiskers in front of the camera

I am no longer jealous of the time Michael takes to meditate, probably because I can remain peacefully in bed instead of dealing with babies and toddlers alone.  There are, apparently, some benefits to getting older.

I'm bracing myself for the business travel that's coming up - the dogs aren't nearly as well-behaved without their morning meditation.  In fact, when Michael's away from home, the dogs often arise as early as 4:30 and Gus is then up and ready to play.  I do not meditate, and they know it.  No amount of coaxing will convince them to snuggle up with me for an hour - or even 20 minutes.  And banishment to the kennel leaves Gus so distraught that he howls in emotional agony for hours.  

So I'm bracing myself for my own exhaustion and emotional distress when Michael's annual two-week trip to Chile comes along at the end of the month.

Meanwhile, I'm savoring my early mornings spent in bed.