Crappy Morning?

It's been one of those mornings.  The kind where you get up and think everything's on track and then everything falls apart.  When I got back from my walk, I found my bath towel covered in...well, crap and no one seems to know how it got there.  So I had to run a wash.  Then the blouse that I planned on wearing this morning didn't match the skirt I pulled out...or any other skirt that I had.  So I am pulling things from drawers and closets trying to find an outfit that will match and looks halfway decent.  All the while, the curlers are falling out of my hair.  The clock is ticking and I still hadn't had my coffee. I needed to get my son to change his clothes (it's supposed to warm  up today) and remind him to go to lost and found for his water bottle (2nd that he's lost and we're only 2 months into the school year). I finally manage to get myself dressed and fill up a coffee mug and am halfway out the door with it when I realize that I had forgotten to finish packing my son's lunch.  (I pack most of it the night before, but anything that needs to be keep cool I leave in the refrigerator until the last minute.)  Run back in and do that, get in the car and TRY to call my co-worker who I pick up every morning to let her know I am on my way (it's about 20  minutes from my house to hers and then another 10 to the office) and my new phone doesn't seem to recognize her name.  Then when I make my daily morning call to my mother (because I am a good daughter), on the first try she can't hear me, so I have to hang up and try again.  (This is all hands free and before I get onto the highway.)  On the highway, I'm faced with incredible sun glare and traffic until I suddenly hit a wall of fog which slows down things even further.  (I could see it as I drove towards it.  Literally there was this wall of clouds that hung over the area I was heading too.)  I finally get into the office parking lot. (NOT parking in a visitor spot as everyone else seems to do.  Seriously, 10+ visitor spots filled up every morning before 8:30?  I don't think so!)  I settle down with my now cold coffee (which I reheat in the microwave) and try to get to work, only the coffee doesn't want to come out the mug.  So I unscrew the lid...I don't think I need to say more.  At least it didn't get on me or anything important that was on my desk.  (And now my area has a nice vanilla coffee scent to it.)  And did I say I'm wearing my old reading glasses because my "new" (comparatively; they are probably 4 years old) ones snapped in half the other day and there is no way to repair them?

Obviously it hasn't been a banner morning or week for me.  And I'm hoping as the day goes on it will get better.  (As I look out my window I see the fog starting to clear out and blue sky appearing, so that seems to be a good sign.)

With all that said, the crap (both literal and figurative) is really nothing in the big scheme of things. My problems today were mere irritations.  For my friends in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas there is a lot more to worry about than what to wear to work and cold coffee.  Two million people have been told to evacuate their homes in the face of the forthcoming Hurricane Matthew.  If the storm continues as predicted there WILL be a great deal of loss and damage.  Some of my friends may be in harm’s way as they work in essential services.  I think of them and consider my own selfish, petty complaints.  Perhaps I should take a moment and stop fussing and instead say a prayer for them and for all those who were and will be affected by this massive storm.

I know first-hand how devastating a hurricane can be.  It has been 4 years since Sandy hit us.  Superstorm? Hurricane?  Nor’easter? Does it really matter what you call it?  In the end, there was massive destruction and still there are areas that remain devastated.  (This will come as no surprise to anyone who faced Katrina in 2006.  Ten years later; how "normal" is normal?  Certainly "average ordinary life" has been redefined and things will NEVER be the same again.)

So today, tomorrow and for the weekend, I'm going to try and halt my petty grievances and whining.  When my thoughts to turn to "poor me," I'm going to stop and remember how blessed I am.  How lucky I am NOT to be in the midst of a storm.  And for my friends in the midst of all the chaos, I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.  I may not be able to do much, but I can at least do that.