by admin
The alarm went off at 6am this morning, the weekday usual. The standard buzzer-sound never worked well for waking me up, so my alarm is on a radio station that I know nothing about, full blast. I suppose some of us need startled awake.
I leaned over, reset the sucker for thirty minutes later. I do this sometimes, more than I would like to admit. I burrowed deeper into my flannel comforter, pulling the cat tighter against me–Abacus is a world class snuggle/sausage-er so she was into it. Closed my eyes…
And nothing. And everything. Nothing as in no falling back to sleep, everything as in the reason for being awake today for good. Instantly I thought of my dad, who is experiencing his first morning recovery after intensive shoulder surgery. I talked to him last night and he wasn’t comfortable then, and I’m sure he’s far from comfy right now. It’s part of the process. I could not just fall back to sleep after thinking about how he must feel this morning..how frustrating it must be to see at least 12 weeks of inactivity/recovery ahead of you. He never sits still. Today I packed my messenger bag with some shorts and a scraggly t-shirt, the tennis shoes. After work I’m going to the gym, because my father can’t.
Thinking of him, I pulled myself out of bed, popped my contacts in and set aside the clothes from work. Cracked open the laptop to check my email. There are a couple blogs I keep up with, so I thought I would check them quickly as well. One of them is written by a woman who survived a plane crash, despite the burns on more than 80% of her body. She is finally home continuing her recovery, after being in a coma(to aid healing) for over a month. She posted a-day-in-the-life post, covering a morning routine that includes a struggle of just walking to the bathroom. And there I was this morning, complaining about my complete ability to get out of bed on my own without pain, without thought.
I have so much to be thankful for, and nothing of permanence. Every morning is an opportunity to experience. Every day is a chance to be blessed and fortunate, and I’d rather meet every occasion on that ground. I’d rather not go back to sleep, when there is so much to see(and see again) and do. I tend to forget the constants I am granted right now–such as the ability to walk, to see, to speak, to listen, to take care of myself. None of them are ever guaranteed.
Last and certainly not least, today is January 20th. Today is so incredible for history. Today we welcome, officially, our new president. I can’t help but wonder: how many hours of shut-eye did Obama manage last night? And this morning, when faced with the alarm going off, how long did it take him to put his feet on the floor and rise to the day?
I doubt he hit the snooze button.