Our Morning Rituals for 2020, Vol. 2 – Corinne Elicone

Our Morning Rituals is a lifestyle series in which the Attic editors and writers give us a glimpse of their mornings – what do they eat? what products do they use? what do they read? As we revive the series for 2020 as all of our morning routines have drastically changed with the universal upheaval of the day to day, writer Corinne Elicona takes us through her new routine.

All photography by Corinne Elicona.

In quarantine, the structures of my mornings have changed entirely. When I was going into my office everyday the AM hours were rushed. Wake up, throw together a semblance of an outfit, scarf down whatever food was easiest to put together, and rush out the door—perhaps picking up the occasional coffee at my favorite café along the way. I say this as a morning person, but when you’ve got to leave the house before 8:30AM there is no leisurely wake-up, no sun-filled breakfasts, and for me, certainly no time to exercise. But the world has changed irrevocably since those days, and as a result, the structure of my very privileged day is more up in the air.  

My last day waking up in such a manner and heading to the office was March 10th 2020. I didn’t have time to collect my thoughts, or grab my things, or even really realize what was happening. I had received word that I was possibly exposed to the coronavirus, and so my quarantine began a bit earlier than my fellow Americans’. Luckily, even though tests were scarce, and it’s impossible to know for sure, I did not come down with COVID-19 symptoms and quarantined for 2 weeks, as I watched the rest of the world go to hell. March 10th 2020 was the day where my usual morning rituals were upended and disrupted, but since then I have found a new rhythm of those evasive morning hours and have come to know them more intimately.

The cool of early summer mornings is my favorite time to exercise—mostly because it’s the only time I can exercise with a reprieve from the intensity of the sun and away from all the other people of Boston. I run to the Charles River and then meander through Harvard University, with its beautiful colonial buildings and extremely impressive landscape design. It’s always a very pleasant and calming experience to get outside when the city is still quiet and watch as different flowers and trees bloom and die and are replaced like a lightshow in slow motion. When I return from my run I begin the second half of my workout with a short progression of some strength-building yoga positions—a sun salutation, if you will. 

By this point it’s about 8AM, and I am pretty sweaty and gross. A cold shower is absolutely necessary as the humidity of New England summers is relentless. As someone with sensitive skin, I love taking cold showers. They’re refreshing, invigorating, and better for your hair as well. One of the small joys I’ve been giving myself this summer is stocking my shower with fresh eucalyptus leaves every week. They make the room smell minty and herbal and they clear my sinuses in a very pollen-heavy environment. 

After I’ve cleaned myself up a bit, it’s finally time to eat some breakfast. In quarantine, I’ve been loving the simplicity of scrambled eggs and toast, which has become my go-to post-workout recovery meal. Then I usually make myself a pour over coffee, sit down at my desk, and begin work for the day. 

On a separate, but related note, I’ve found myself struggling with feelings of guilt during the pandemic, that I am lucky enough to be in a position to work from home with a stable income. So many of my friends are working at the mercy of the customers they serve and the management they report to. My partner, whom I live with, was one of the millions of people to lose his job when the economy shut down. These people, my friends, and others (whom I do not know) do not have the luxury of early morning runs, and leisurely breakfasts. Please, be extra kind and gentle to these people who we call essential but treat more as expendable. Tip them extra and always wear your mask. 

Right now I do not have the power to change the way our economy is structured, but we should do all that we can to support making these changes so that, maybe one day, leisure and time are more accessible to all in our society. 

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Corinne Elicona is an Event Coordinator and Crematory Operator at the historic Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She curates Mount Auburn's "Death Positive" programming and can often be seen roaming the cemetery in search of fascinating epitaphs for her next historic walking tour.