Early In The Morning...With The Boss

I don't know about you, but I tend to sky rocket out of bed in the morning. This habit comes from hitting that snooze alarm a time or two more than I should, and staying in bed until the very last minute possible...wringing every last second of slumber from the previous night, before I have to face the next morning...bleary-eyed. So it was this morning. I had gotten to bed uncharacteristically late, and the morning came much too early. By the time I pried myself from the sumptuousness of the sheets I was already running late. I took an abbreviated shower and shot out the door. Don't worry...no speeding...the traffic would not allow me to speed any way.

So, I sat there, nibbling a questionably nutritious granola bar and listening to talk radio. Moving at a snails pace in stop and go traffic you can survey your fellow drivers. This morning my vehicular companions were engrossed in a myriad of activities. I saw people eating their breakfast, women farding (applying make-up...heeheehee...didn't make that one up!), folks making early morning phone calls....without using their bluetooth I might add... how irritating. One guy was even bold enough to read the newspaper while driving. The pages of the paper were draped gracefully over his steering wheel. It wasn't quite the way I had hoped to start my day. My lack of discipline both the night before in getting to bed too late, as well as this morning, made for a rushed and anxious morning.

I am reminded of the scripture that says, "Psalm 5:3 - My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. " I don't think that a quick, "Good Morning, Lord" is quite what the author had in mind here. I did a word study this morning after I got to work and I was flabbergasted how many times the phrase "early in the morning" appears in scripture. Rest assured that I am not looking at it in a legalistic way, but rather a common sense way. If I take the time to feed both my body with healthy food and my spirit with spiritual food, I will have what I need to sustain me for the morning until my next "meal." In my patients who make a habit of eating fast food I often see an increase in stress, illness as well as physical pain, adrenal burn-out and lethargy. Why wouldn't eating a fast-food spiritual breakfast have a similar end product with reduced self control, shortening of my temper, feelings of being overwhelmed, crabby and stressed?

So, I think it is time for a tune up in my mornings. I need to make more of a point to get up a little bit earlier to spend time with the boss (no, not talking about Springsteen here) and get my marching orders for the day as well as to eat something that will nourish my body, just not give me some energy for a half of an hour. I know myself, however. I need to be realistic. I know there will be times when I am running late due to circumstances beyond my control. So, I will take the bull by the horns. I have decided to make a couple of batches of healthy, high fiber/low fat muffins to keep in the freezer, and I will put some scripture CD's in the car. That way, if I am running late and have not had time to properly "feed" myself, I can grab a frozen muffin. It will defrost on the way to work and at least I can get some of the Word in me as I am weaving my way through traffic. In my experience talk radio tends to be riddled with anger, sarcasm and acidic words. It usually leaves me feeling more agitated than informed or educated any way.

It is time for the adult in me to take charge over the three-year-old inside (you know, the little girl who wants to just eat sugary sweets and sit on her chubby bottom and watch cartoons instead of eating green beans and going out to ride her bike or skate?...yeah...her). I need to parent myself as I would parent my own children. What example am I setting otherwise? Perhaps that little girl inside will become a 4-year-old in the near future. I look forward to the day. Chubby forearm creases and dimpled thighs are adorable in babies, but not so cute in this 49-year-old woman.

The soap box is free if someone else would like to step up...