I scrolled by meme on the socials and this one kinda hit me hard. Maybe it's the bottle of wine I'm about to finish, but "normalize being quiet in the morning" just flooded my soul with feelings and memories.
I remember as a kid, waking up super early in the morning to catch my dad before he left for work and trying to be a quiet as possible so I didn't wake anyone else up. This is a difficult task in a hundred year plus old house. He worked two jobs and long hours ago any time i could get with him was special.
I remember countless camping trips with the scouts, waking up to a new day that was still fresh and unspoiled with Noise. I worked hard to keep that sense of purity of the time; even walking on gravel seemed too loud an activity. There was an unspoken bond between those of us who got up first, to keep the peace as long as we could.
The early day is special. It has a feeling to it before the Noise, before it's spoiled by the attention seekers and other self possessed where you can simply exist. You can be present with yourself where none seek to drain your energy and life. Once there is Noise, there is obligation, there is competition, your time is no longer your own.
I can't keep away the Noise for a long as I used to, but I try every day in whatever ways I can to delay when it comes. I think my daughter feels it as well, and there is another keeper of that peace. Another who can hold on to it, to protect it, and share it with whomever comes next.