# Old Man Mornings

Source: https://bartlorang.com/blog/old-man-mornings
Date: 2015-02-03

![](https://bartlorang.com/images/blog/old-man-mornings/0*p81XX5U2fgEuHD9O.jpg)

“When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.” — Mark Twain

I love that quote.

I also think you could increment the ages to 21 and 28, or 28 and 35, or 35 and 42 — it’d still be valid.

On my walk to the bus stop early this morning I thought to myself: “When did I become an old man?”

The thought entered my head because It just struck me how much I crave and need my morning routine, which goes like this:

Go to bed before 10PM.  
 Fall asleep reading some fiction.  
 Wake up naturally at 5AM.  
 Use the restroom.  
 Maybe crawl back into bed and catch a few more Zs before alarm goes off at 5:45AM.  
 Shower.  
 Dress.  
 Make coffee.  
 Enjoy my quiet walk through Downtown Boulder to the bus stop.  
 Ride bus, listen to music and enjoy the sunrise.

On days where this is interrupted, and I don’t get this type of quiet self reflection time, my emotional state can change dramatically.

I get grumpy and I am not pleasant to be around.

When I was younger, my sleep schedules were all over the place. I was a night owl. I’d often pull all-nighters working. On the weekends, I would close down the bars at 2AM.

As a result, my moods were all over the place too.

So now I realize maybe why all those “old guys” like to wake up early.

Maybe they have figured out that keeping routines and rhythms is a good thing for their emotional well being and spiritual health.

Or maybe they just like a little peace and goddamn quiet.

Either way, the old men might know something.