Stayed in bed until 0745 hrs!

I got up at 0251 hrs this morning, which is in the usual range of times that I’m up in the morning, but being sick was really causing me some problems with staying awake while I was eating breakfast with my mom before she left at about 0444 hrs. She told me to go back to bed, so I did. I just crawled out of bed and looked at the clock. I feel like half my day is gone! I needed the rest, though. The wind is blowing again today, which is going to make things interesting while driving to Billings, but I guess it warms the temperatures up for us, so let it blow. I don’t mind not being in a deep freeze here in Montana right now. Usually we are. I have an appointment with the Doc today, so that’s good. I need to make a payment to his office manager today. Hopefully I don’t forget.

It was different waking up without an alarm and looking out the window with the daylight just making its appearance past the trees outside this morning. I liked it, in some strange way. Not leaping out of bed, but instead calmly and slowly rolling the covers back and sitting up for a few minutes, able to think about what I wanted to do next, was nice. Too bad I’m sick, but the experience was pleasant nonetheless. I think we’re in too much of a hurry these days. Time is our most precious commodity and one that we cannot afford to waste because it’s the one thing we can never get back. It is finite for each of us, and its end is unknown. What a commodity to squander! We do it all the time, though (pun intended). We race down the Interstates at speeds that will surely kill us in order to get to corporate Power Point presentations that we’re late for, only to eat one too many powdered sugar donuts at the meeting and gain extra pounds of fat that raise our cholesterol, increase our blood pressures, and increase our risk of heart attack and stroke, jeopardizing that precious time we have left to squander more of doing the same things that I just described day in and day out. For what? Most would give an excuse such as “money”. Do you know what money is these days? It’s a digital readout on a screen that anyone with some computer skills can edit on a whim. It’s special paper printed by a private enterprise that has nothing to back it, making it useless for anything but trade. It’s the wampum made of colored construction paper that we played with as children when those of us who grew up before political correctness robbed us of an education in the public school system went to school and learned about Native American culture and history from. Money is NOT worth squandering your limited time on earth for — it’s not worth selling your life for! It won’t give you happiness in and of itself, nor will the possessions it can be traded for these days. Although it’s nice to have those things, they’re just things. The moments looking at the beauty of nature and exercising and (for me) working my way up a crag that I’m trying to send are what time is best used for if you get right down to what makes things important in life. Spend time with your loved ones — your spouse, your parents, your kids, your climbing buddies, whoever. Do things you genuinely enjoy. If you’re going to go for the big bucks, make sure you’re doing something you enjoy so that you don’t inadvertently throw your life and your limited time here on earth away. Just think about what you’re doing. Is it time to make a change?