Is it me* or is WordPress getting a bit personal, not to say voyeuristic, with this latest instalment of ‘365 Days of Writing Prompts’:

“Feed your senses. Write down the first sight, sound, smell and sensation you experienced on waking up today. Pick the one you’re most drawn to and write. (For a bigger challenge, pick the one you’re least drawn to.)”

Now, there are several ways to play this. I could – in theory, if not in practice – wax lyrical about the first light of dawn creeping around the curtains as songbirds chirp merrily in the trees while the smell of honeysuckle, borne on a gentle zephyr, pervades the boudoir with sweet perfumes. If I looked out of the window there would probably also be a couple of baby rabbits gambolling playfully on the perfectly manicured lawn…..Nah.

On balance, I think I’ll go for honesty. Bad luck.

More often than not, the first sensation I experience on waking is the one that wakes me up in the first place: a pressing, if not quite matter-of-life-and-death, need to – technically speaking – micturate.

Right, so that’s ‘first sensation’: tick. And another tick for it being the one I’m least drawn to.

Next, the first sound. This comes when I respond to my first sensation by swinging my legs out from under the duvet and hauling myself upright. On a good day, this can be achieved fairly silently – as is, of course, the intention – but there’s no denying that there are other occasions when the process of getting to my feet is achieved to the accompaniment of what could easily pass for the snapping of a large bunch of dry twigs.

No first sight yet, you may have noticed; that’s because it’s still dark – and out here it’s really dark. That doesn’t come until the motion sensor on the floor next to the bathroom door reacts to my approach by helpfully illuminating my path. It is only at this stage that I discover how well my internal radar has been working on the route down my side of the bed, sharp left past the chaise longue and onwards to my final destination.

On a good day I’m almost spot on, but there have been occasions when I’ve found myself one step away from walking into the wall or the wardrobe door…

It’s a minefield, I’m telling you

…which would have been the second sound. Probably closely followed by the third as well. Although that would be self-generated – and not repeatable in polite company.

Or words to that effect

Finally, for the sake of completeness – if you’re close-reading this prompt perhaps, or just prurient – you will also want to know about the first smell.

That would be honeysuckle. Obviously.

*No, you’re right: it’s me.