What are your morning rituals? What does the first hour of your day look like? – So the Daily Writing prompt wants to know.

My mornings have changed since retirement. Having worked a night shift for the last decade, my mornings are still being adjusted. Instead of 3-5 hours sleep, I’m getting 6-8. I’m not physically and mentally spent when I wake.

Sometimes mornings start at 3 am, sometimes 9 am, and anywhere in between. So what I do in that first hour changes a good bit. Some mornings I shower immediately, others not.

I’ll grab my morning Coke (always), I never was a coffee drinker. I love the smell of it but not the taste. I go to the front door to see what it’s doing outside and what wildlife or people are lurking.

Scan the overnight email, and start working on a few blog posts. Start to stretch out this old body, some light dumbbells, and maybe some treadmill time.

One thing I’m incorporating is music, early in the morning. Good for inspiration.

Then again, staying in bed the first hour or two of the day isn’t a bad way to start a day either.

But if I’m at the ocean I usually grab my camera at about 5 am and head to the beach for early morning shots and sunrise.