Just some thoughts

I had a bad day today... at least I thought I did. I hardly slept last night... I spent the weekend in Bellingham, Washington with Deric and Amber and their staff team. They had a staff retreat and I went along to babysit Ava while they had meetings. It was a fun weekend away. I was really tired by Sunday night, so I stopped at the 7-11 in Bellingham for coffee before driving home. I knew better. I knew when I bought the coffee that I wouldn't sleep, and yet I drank it anyway. I guess I wanted to make sure I stayed awake the whole way home. And so, I didn't sleep. I gave up trying at 1:30am. Finally by 4:30 I was tired enough nod off. Let me tell you... two hours flies by when you're sleeping. After hitting snooze a couple times I decided that I could skip taking a shower (showers are highly overrated when you're tired) and instead sleep until 6:45 (I believe it was 6:39 when I made this decision). So in my half conscious state, I reset my alarm. At 8:43 (an hour after I should have been at work) my boss called. She wondered why I wasn't picking up the store phone, so she tried my cell. Her call woke me up from a deep sleep. I explained to her that I wasn't at the store yet and then darted around like a pinball to get out of the house in record time (without the shower I might add). My alarm went off at 8:45 (apparently setting an alarm when half asleep... bad idea!). Days like today I really wished I lived closer than 30 minutes from work. I made it to work, albeit late, but already my day was off to a bad start. I guess I had already convinced myself that it was going to be a bad day. I was tired, late, and to top it all off sick... the cold that I thought was getting better seemed to have taken a turn for the worst.
When I got home today from my not so great day at work, I found out about the massacre that happened at Virginia Tech earlier this morning. I cried. I don't know anyone who goes to Virginia Tech, but still, hearing the news of the shootings shook me. Thirty-three people dead and many others wounded. What started as a normal day getting up and going to classes ended in an unimaginable tragedy for the students and staff of that university, their families and friends, and the surrounding community. Monday morning. There were probably lots of students who slept in, skipped showers, and rushed off to their morning classes. Probably some who, like me, got up on the wrong side of the bed and just knew that it would be a bad day. And it was. The worst kind of day. A day that will forever change the lives of so many... in just an instant. Parents receiving the worst kind of phone call. Families torn apart. Siblings, friends, classmates... gone. It hurts my heart. Most of us will not remember Monday April 16th in a year's time, but for so many people, this day will never be erased from their hearts and minds. Perspective. Reflecting on today's events helps me to put my life in perspective. On this "bad" day of mine, I managed to find lots of things to worry about, dwell on, and complain about. However, in light of the events at Virginia Tech today, those things seem so minuscule... incredibly unimportant. Today reminded me that none of us know what lies ahead... I am grateful that God saw fit to give me another day on this earth and that in this day I have not known pain, loss, and suffering. The little annoyances are just that... little annoyances.