Someone in your house has been getting up before you for years. You just never heard them leave.

The quietest work in a house happens before anyone else is conscious. An alarm at five, the kettle, a shower in the dark, a car started carefully so it does not wake the street. Being considerate makes the effort invisible. Years of early mornings can pass with nobody in the family having seen one.

Set your alarm for their time once and get up with them, and do not make it a conversation. Make the coffee, say good morning, see them out. One shared early morning tells you more about somebody’s life than any amount of being told about it.