Alarm clock not ringing ushers in a bad morning start

Have you ever had one of those days when you wish you could just pull up the warm covers, go back to sleep and start over because the first 20 minutes of awake time is a nightmare that gets worse with every step?

I had one of those bad wake-ups Thursday.

First off, my alarm didn't go off and I awoke blurred-eyed about the time I am usually pulling my car out of the garage.

Those of you who know me, know that I hate to be late or even running on time causes my blood pressure to simmer.

I'm "old school" when it comes to my morning routine.

I like to get up early (about 4:30 a.m.), take my time, check my email, browse some news websites and then at my own pace get ready for work.

That's my routine and when something throws a wrench into that schedule, it is not a good thing for my disposition.

The way I figure it, if you are not 10 minutes early you are late.

So, when I got up 90 minutes late, my morning schedule was in chaos before it ever got started.

That was bad moment No. 1.

I then jumped up and stubbed my big toe on the door facing as I was marching quickly to the bathroom. Tell me why a stubbed toe sends pain through your entire body? Believe me, it does for sure.

That was bad moment No. 2.

Hopping around on one leg and trying not to scream in pain, I reached for my bottle of morning medication and wouldn't you know, I dropped the pill bottle and spilled one pill short of a full month's supply on the floor.

That was bad moment No. 3.

I then headed for a refreshing 30 second shower and shampoo ... a quick dry off and I'm nearly on schedule. Well, by this time I'm about 10 minutes late but I'm making progress.

Then it was time to round up some clothes to fluff in the dryer.

Didn't have time to let everything get real dry so I quickly threw on some slightly damp pants and as I was buttoning up, the button just fell off on the floor.

That was bad moment No. 4 and I've only been awake for 20 minutes.

With no time to sew the button on the pants, because I can't see to thread the darn needle these days, I found another pair of pants and without delay, finished dressing.

I grabbed a two-day-old leftover piece of French bread ... revived it with a 30 second blast in the microwave oven and my breakfast was completed on the run.

As I wheeled out of the garage, I was gasping for air and yelling to myself, "Why me? Why me Lord?"

But on the 22-minute drive to work I had time to calm down and actually spent some much-needed prayer time to reflect on what had happened on this very frustrating morning.

Possibly God was just trying to give me a fire drill of sorts on getting ready for a day at work with a little more speed and haste.

My family would believe God was dealing with my sometimes extreme obsession to be early and this was his way of helping me to seize the moment.

Whatever it was, it worked because I made it to work only about five minutes later than my normal start time at 7 a.m. (which is probably 15 minutes later than the time I usually arrive at the office).

The rest of the day actually went pretty smooth with no major problems, confrontations, serious technical difficulties and none of what I like to refer to as "the crazy calls."

Lessons were learned on that morning. I just don't want a repeat of that that kind of drama any time soon.

On another subject, I'm reminded that many in our area have been on Spring Break and traveling to sunny warmer locations to the south of the Indiana border. But for some, finances prevent such refreshing getaways.

I had a Facebook friend who posted something the other day about her Spring Break that brought some perspective to it all.

She wrote, "I traveled to the Spring Break vacation getaway within my budget -- went to Walmart today."

Now that is funny, but a sad reality for many.

So as another week comes crashing to a close, remember in my business, bad decisions make good stories.

Think before you act, or your story might just be one that I'm writing about next week.

Nick is assistant editor for the Greene County Daily World. He can be reached by telephone at 847-4487 or 1-800-947-4487; by e-mail at schneider.nick@gmail.com .