That day dawns and dawns

One remarkable thing about Finland is the quantity of daylight occurring during Spring and summer. The sky remains light—pink sky on the horizon at sunset even until 11:30 pm, and when I would open my eyes about 3:00 am because I could no longer sleep, the sun would be already up. I heard somewhere that there would not be a sunset (or sunrise) in Finland until July. Thoreau announces “only that day dawns to which we are awake,” but what would he say to that day which never dawns but is perpetually day. I wonder how Thoreau might have responded to days of perpetual daylight.

I was wearied by such days. Aside from the fact that the continental changes and the day changes kept me from much of my rest, and besides the fact that meetings start at 8:30 am and that they end at 5:00pm, and that following these sessions delegates have to sit about drinking and discussing the sessions, I feel as if I haven’t slept in a week. And I haven’t. One morning I actually went out running at 4:30am because I had already been up for two hours lying abed.

I am glad to be home. The sun may be a morning star, but I appreciate comfort of the other stars as well.