Four o'clock is golden. I can hear four o'clock coming. It might as well be wearing a bell around its neck.
I feel four o'clock in my bones. It's the turning point in the day. Time to exhale. Get up. Think about what's next. Could be coffee. Could be something intoxicating. Only a rude person would suggest four o'clock is too early for that. It might be a walk around the block or aimless wandering into another room.
Four o'clock's intent changes with the seasons. In winter, the light is leaving and there's the pleasant prospect of an early evening by firelight. In summer, if I choose to follow the light, there's plenty of time left to see where it leads.
Professional schedules these days are often malleable. We may still be accountable to somebody, but how we do it varies. It's our own business how we set our internal clocks. Four o'clock insists I pay attention. Time to tap into fresh resources and keep going or wrap it up for the day.
I'm guessing most of us have a magic hour, declared or not, a time when everything shifts. Four o'clock is mine.
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