A Good Day

I woke up an hour before the alarm went off this morning, looked at the clock and was shocked. I had slept through the night without waking up in the wee hours to lay there and wish I were sleeping. This is a really huge deal for me. If you suffer from persistent, intractable insomnia, you know what I mean.

"I've got an hour before I have to get up," I told myself, "so I'll just lay here." And I did. But as my mind began to chew on the day ahead, I realized that I wasn't going to go back to sleep. And I felt really good! So, what the heck, I got up. I took time to say my prayers, the whole shebang, not just the hurried Our Father that I perfunctorily offer up most mornings with an embarrassed, "Sorry, God. I'll try to do better tomorrow." I was just finishing when the alarm went off.

It felt so good to wake up with a full night of drug-free sleep in me. The sun was shining. I was having breakfast with my wife, feeling optimistic about school and work. And did I mention how good it felt to have my first good night's sleep in I don't know how long?

As I began my morning commute, I paused to thank God once again for a good night's sleep. When that first song was over and the annoying commercials started, I turned the radio off. I thanked God for being able to turn the radio off. And that started a flood of things that I was thankful for. It was a good commute, uneventful, sunshiney and hypotensive.

I had a good day at school. The sun on my skin as I walked to class made me feel alive, warm and happy. My initial apprehensions about starting grad school eased by a comprehensible lecture on a fascinating subject.

I had a good day at work. My students were attentive. And why shouldn't they have been? I was articulate and focused. I controlled potential disturbances, gave encouragement and got good feedback.

I had a good homeward commute, a delicious, healthful dinner, and a productive evening of homework.

And now I'm going to bed, very sleepy but thankful and happy.