Having grown up on a ranch far away from any busy streets or stores or anything, the main sounds I can remember in the mornings, besides my alarm clock, were our neighbor's rooster crowing at 5am, my mom in the kitchen, my dad or sibling(s) getting around the ranch on the 4-wheeler to feed our horses, and our horses whinnying in anticipation of their arrival. I didn't think much about those sounds. They were just the norm. I didn't appreciate them nearly as much as I do now when I go home to visit. I LOVE the sounds of country living.
After our first year of marriage, Clint and I moved into a teeny tiny little house in Clint's uncle's backyard where we lived for 3 years. Uncle Jim and Clint's dad had built it, and it shared a wall with Uncle Jim's workshop. It wasn't unusual to wake up to the sound of a chainsaw at 5am, and because it was just on the other side of the wall, it sounded like it was in our same room. Best alarm clock ever. For the whole family. As much as it was an unpleasant sound to hear that early in the morning, I did appreciate it a little, because I loved Uncle Jim and how hard-working he was and how it motivated me to get 'up and at 'em.'
The neighborhood we live in now has at least 15-20 (maybe more) peacocks (peafowls, peahens, and peachicks). I love them. They are so much fun to see every day, but many people find them to be pests as they are known to peck cars, be really loud, and leave big droppings (large bird = large dropping). Maybe I won't like them so much if they peck our cars, but they haven't yet. Anyway, they really are so loud, especially during mating season, and especially at about 3 in the morning... and then continue off and on for several hours. It used to wake me up; they sound like a woman yelling for help, which was a little disturbing at first, but now I mostly sleep through it. When I wake up early, though, I love hearing them call.
And, of course, for several years now, the main sounds I hear in the morning are my kids/babies. Sometimes they're my very favorite sounds... "Momma, can I turn on a movie for everyone while you stay in bed?" "Mom, you stay in bed... I'll make oatmeal for everyone." On Saturdays... "Daddy, can you come downstairs with us?" "Mommy, can I snuggle with you?" And sometimes they're my not-so-favorite sounds. "Mommy, I wet my bed." "Mom, can I get in your bed?" "Mommy, I'm scared. I had a bad dream." "Mom, I just threw up." "Mommy, so-and-so woke me up!" "Mom, I don't know why, but I'm all wet."
When I get up and going a couple of hours before my kids wake up, all of their sounds are so much more pleasant to me. And if their sounds are not very pleasant, at least I am more pleasant in my response. I am one of the morning sounds they hear that set the tone for their day, and I want them to enjoy the sounds of morning just like I do.
