Time Management

In the early hours of Thursday morning, we lost electricity for a couple of hours.  JT and I slept through it.  I woke on my own that morning, turning off my alarm clock before it rang.  I often wake just before the alarm goes off, so I thought nothing of it, and got in the shower, assuming at was 5:30 am.

When I came downstairs, I was surprised to see that my coffee pot hadn’t started it’s automatic brew.  But again I thought nothing of it, pressed start on the machine, and began the morning stretches that keep my back and neck from being too tense.  I pondered the sunlight; I hadn’t realized the sun was already up so early (this from a woman who uses an app to obsessively check the sunrise and sunset times).  Only when I poured my first cup of coffee did I realize that the clocks in the kitchen were flashing.  I turned on NPR, sat down to grade a few quizzes, and poured myself a second cup of coffee.  As I contemplated getting something for breakfast, I looked at my phone to check the time and reset the clocks.  Only then did I realize that it wasn’t 6:15, as I expected, but it was instead  7:15.  I was going to be late for work.

The rest of the morning passed in a blur, as I rushed around to finish getting ready and get out of the house.  I woke JT before I left, in case his alarm didn’t go off.  And I reset my own alarm clock, which has dials on the back to set the time and the alarm.  While rushing to do that, I accidentally turned the alarm dial.  I knew that I had done it but thought nothing off it.  Thursday night, I turned on my alarm, and went to sleep with nary a concern.

On Friday morning, the clock woke me up with a flashing light.  I turned off the alarm before it converted to buzzing, got up, and got in the shower.  In the shower I felt a little fuzzier than usual for a Friday, but reassured myself that it was Friday and I could have a nap in the afternoon after school.  I thought nothing of the inky darkness outside, finished my shower, and started to get dressed.  I did all this in a faint light and without my glasses.   Only when I grabbed my glasses to go downstairs did I glance at my clock.

It was 3:30 in the morning.

In a flash, I reset the alarm for my usual 5:30 am, changed back into my pajamas, and went back to bed.  I ruefully willed myself back to sleep, reflecting on the fact that it’s still only April and the most challenging month of the school year, May, has not yet begun.  

I’m already tired.