I go out walking, after midnight

Patsy Cline's "Walkin after midnight" is on repeat in my brain these days...give it a listen.

Disclaimer: Thanks to my wonderful allergies to everything in the air right now, I'm not thinking too clearly. This may be a bit rambly and nonsensical, but hopefully, you'll get the point. And if not, blame it on the Sudafed.

Before a rockin, raucous show with Surprise Me Mr. Davis at Club Passim tonight, I was talking with a friend about small indulgences, and at the same time, we both said that walking to work is one of our favorite parts of the day. It may take a little longer to get to work, but I'm willing to miss a teensy bit of sleep in order to start my day with that glorious 25 minute walk to work. Even the blizzards typical of a New England winter don't keep me from my leisurely stroll to work in the morning. Now that spring seems to have actually arrived, it's even more of a cleansing, rejuvenating moment in my day.

There's something very communal about the morning. Walking down Mass. Ave., I often see the same college students on their way to class, the two realtors standing outside during their early coffee break, the older woman who sits at the same table every day sipping her coffee and making conversation with anyone who walks by, and the Harvard law students who scurry to class with their messenger bags and notebooks.

The best kept secret of the world is those morning hours when the rest of the world is just starting up. It's so peaceful and calm, and everyone seems to subconsciously go out of their way to preserve that moment as long as they can. Construction workers save their catcalls for later in the day (forgive the generalization, even though it's true), bus drivers hold off on honking, cyclists ride a little less suicidally, people in coffee shops even occasionally look up and smile at passersby. We're all in it together to hold onto that morning quiet as long as we can.

Maybe the Ella Fitzgerald, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Margaret Glaspy, Sam Cooke, and Noah and the Whale on my ipod block everything out and paint the morning as a much rosier world than it really is, but that's still my reality. I can clear my head, get ready for the day, mentally prepare myself to face other people.

I realize that not everyone has the luxury of living 25 minutes from work, but I encourage you to find the time to go for a short walk every day. After work, get off the T one stop early, and walk the long way home. Just an extra 10 minutes of fresh air and alone time helps me shed any anger or stress I have from the day, and I'm ready to start winding down. I like to end the day with a stroll around my neighborhood, sometimes with a friend, sometimes by myself. If you hit it just perfectly, the sky will be that brilliant twilight color with the crisp white stars starting to pop out. With the rustling of the trees and the cool, brisk air, you may even start to believe that everything is going to be all right.