Morning: Earlier than you Thought

The moment I took the job, I knew moving to rural southwest Minnesota was going to be a BIG adjustment. I was prepared for certain things - incredible views, lots of potatoes, heavy Minnesota accents and different selections in the grocery store.

I did not know mornings would be earlier.

Half of all Minnesota is farmland, and I can't find the numbers, but that means that there are A LOT of farmers and a lot of people who are involved in agriculture. 

I grew up in the suburbs. I've lived and worked in the cities, but I have no experience living and working in a rural area. I did not know that mornings would be earlier!

Most of the ladies in my office are married to men who work in agriculture, which means that, by default, they work in agriculture as well. It means that while the rest of us are starting fires inside, playing with new recipes in our slow cookers and falling in love with winter clothes all over again, these families are up early and working late, harvesting and preparing the fields for the next crop. 

That means that when I arrive by 8:30 am, everybody else has been up for three hours, working for two and at the office for one. 8:30 itself may not be that early, but when you consider how long the women around me have been working, it turns out, morning is a lot earlier than I thought. 

sunrise on my first day of work