Today was an excellent dawn skate session. Aside from the chili dogs I’d eaten the night before, everything felt good today. The mood was calm after short but heavy rain late last evening. Lucky for me, there was only one small puddle left by the time the park opened.

 I started out without music for the first time. Well, I left my headphones with my stuff on purpose for the first time. I can’t overstate the peace at the skatepark when the sun is dawning. Every morning I’m there, I enjoy the sunrise while I warm up and, at my level, regain the balance lost since the day before. What could feel overly awkward and stressful when the park is jammed (no one likes to show how much of a jelly roll they are on loose trucks) adds to my calm, my chill. 

Turned up the tunes as people started striding past and cars rushed to get coffee in time before work. Currently, I have a playlist with about 3 hours’ worth of songs. Still, I realized today that I need to edit my selections and section them off rather than shuffle them. 

If I have time, I’ll work the playlist so that the slower tempo songs come first—I don’t need to act all uppity like a limber af teenager. Hopefully, the music will remind me to take it easy.