Rites of Passage

5:05am- The smell of fresh coffee tickles my nose and teases me out of bed. As I shuffle out of my room towards the elixir of life, the roommates dog greets me as only a dog of waist height can. I remind her that it's not very ladylike and nothing has changed since I got home the night before at 12:30am. I grab the paper from the counter and make my way to the living room. My morning companion is already curled up on her side, watching my trip to the sofa with one eye and an ear raised to hear the usual reminder of needing to wait until an invitation is presented before procuring a section of the couch. The end of my speech is marked by her resting her head in my lap and letting out a nasal sigh of remarkable length. I glance through the headlines, half committed while sipping my coffee and watching the morning light make its way across the room. A *hurumpff* emits under the paper and my morning early bird jumps down signalling me that the process is allowed to began.
She walks to the closet and sits to the side, giving her the best view of all possible clothing options. As I explain the reasons for my choices, she looks on patiently as a parent looks upon a child tying their shoes for the first time. She glances behind her knowing that the next stop is to the closet in the hall, and she'll need to get there before me so she has perfect position to sniff out any intruders the second I open the door. I collect what I need from the top shelf and close the closet thanking her for a job well done. She wags twice and takes her place beside the door. As I sit on the floor and wrangle my shoes on, which always seems harder before 8am., my faithful protector checks my ears for any hidden gems I may have put there. Wanting to assure I leave in a happy mood, she gives them a few quick swipes with her tongue before I cover them with my helmet and earphones.
As I walk out the door with my bike in hand I glance back to ensure she's arrived on her rug, and initiated the sequence of three turns before falling asleep again.
There's always more to having a good ride than plenty of sleep and breakfast.