Morning Haze

I woke up this morning at five o'early (it was actually 5:40, but "five o'early" is much more dramatic). I'm not a morning person. I'm a night owl. I accomplish more between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and midnight than I do at any other time of the day. But nevertheless, I teach. And teaching requires that I be at school before the sun has decided to fully shine on this world. So I must wake up between 5:30 and 5:45 almost every day (well except summer, and weekends, and holidays). Approximately 187 days a year I bound (okay crawl) out of bed in a sleepy haze and force myself to go through the motions of preparing for another day. Which is why caffeine is an essential part of my morning routine.

Funny thing about caffeine . . .  I have a low threshold for it. Too much in a short amount of time, and I'm a shaky crazy woman. My heart races, my thoughts make no sense, and I feel sick sick sick. But oh glorious coffee how I need you each morning to make me fully alert and awake and to keep me from doing something inexplicably stupid in my morning haze.

Dramatics over . . . sort of . . .

So this morning I fixed my coffee as usual. I put a drop or half a cup of creamer in it (don't judge). And then without thinking, without stopping to consider the large amount of steam coming off my coffee, I took not a sip, not even a gulp, but a big 'ole swig. I mean I started drinking it like a man who had been without water for a week. And it was HOT! I promptly spit it all over my kitchen counter. Because I'm graceful like that. Nevermind, that the sink was six inches away. Nevermind, that I could've gulped it down. Nope I spewed it everywhere. And since I was already on a roll, I turned on the cold water and started drinking it straight out of the sink. Water was pouring all over my freshly made up face, but I didn't care. All I cared about was sweet relief.

And then I cleaned myself, and the evidence of the whole thing, up and went on about my merry little way. Because that's how I roll.

It was one of my finest moments. And believe me I've had some fine ones. Thank you morning haze.