Dawn

Today I realized that Dawn has a smell.
And it is a good smell. I imagine if I were able to ask a dog, he would think it the most obvious thing in the world, since the air has different physical properties at different times of day, but to me, it was a surprise.
I realized it when I walked out of the party today. I was at a friend's party, got to talking, and so on, and finally realized, after the band closed up and the last DJ stopped playing, that it was probably time to call it a night. So I said my goodbyes, and walked outside, only to be surprised by the daylight. It was dawn. But the moment I smelled that air, it took me back to those old days when dawn was a regular thing, and simply meant the end of my shift at work. Back in Law School I worked as a bouncer at the local dive bar, going in at 9pm and finishing at 6am, then going out to either study for the day's classes, or to party a bit more before bed, depending on how responsible I was feeling that day.
But all it took was one breath of that air to take me back. I guess I'd been used to it then and never noticed it. Not until now, when I'm so unused to being awake for dawn's early light did I realize that there is a particular smell of this time of the day, and its a fittingly beautiful smell, Fresh with the birth of the new day.