You Get What You Need

It's 5:30, Sunday morning. I shouldn't be awake. I'm wide awake. I try, but can't go back to sleep. You can't always get what you want.

At 6:13, I'm out of bed, pulling on running tights and sneakers. Why not run? I pause at my front door and press play on my shuffle. The first song? Countdown by Beyonce. I'm truly in love with this song. And I love that it came up first. Sometimes you get what you need.

Boston is quiet. I run through Chinatown, past delivery trucks and crates of chickens (feathers still on). There are certain things that you can only see in the very early morning.

In the Financial District, the bars are closed, the streets are mostly empty and the sidewalks are all mine. The arch of Rowes Wharf frames a perfect sunrise... a blue harbor and a blue sky, layered with white clouds and apricot-hued light. Sometimes you get what you need.