Today was a Nasty Ninja

Dear Today,
You have officially won. You began your rapid fire assault like a ninja, before I even realized it had begun. But I realize now, the reason I could not fall asleep until after 2am.  I must admit, it was a very crafty plan. Keep the poor tragically-anxious girl awake all night, lull her into a few hours of sleep and then WHAM! launch your real attack.

Yes, indeed.  Crafty.

When I finally managed to untangle myself from the sheets, stumble through the dark, and shuffle my way to the kitchen, I was greeted with the soft, gentle hum of my dearest friend, holder of all I care for most in the world, my trusty refrigerator. Although I hadn't slept much, I could still count on making a protein-rich breakfast to start my day off right.

Except, no. Something wasn't quite right.

You killed my friend, Today.  You ruined the delicious contents of my breakfast. You set my head spinning, wondering how I would be able to afford a new refrigerator right now and what to do with all the food that may as well be sitting on the counter. But I'm a strong independent woman.  I can't be thwarted by a grumpy refrigerator. You may have thought you had me there, but I scrounged some foods for the day: tuna, granola, fruit - I was prepared for success!

Thirty minutes later, armed with my overly large lunch cooler, my laptop bag with not one, but two laptops, a coat, and the doll I promised a coworker, I plowed through the dark garage - just like I do every day. Except on this morning, something was a little different.  Today, you wonderfully sly thing, how you managed to shift that cord to just the right place, causing me to catch my foot in the perfectly looped coil and then lose my balance against the boxes stacked nearby, I will never know.  But my knee will feel the effects for days, maybe weeks, to come. The angry purple swell seemed to scream at me all day long. A sinister second attack, I must say.

Somehow, I still managed to get to work a full five minutes before my students arrived!  Triumphantly, I climbed the stairs, unlocked my classroom door, and hurried to ready my room. I felt like the day was starting anew. I even had everything ready before the first student came running in, excitedly jabbering about his Christmas break. Relief flooded through me and we began our day.

By lunchtime, everything seemed to be tilting perfectly back into place.  I had a plan in place to repair the fridge and my knee was beginning to be more of a grumble than a scream.  We finished our lunch and as the kids were cleaning their tables, the fire alarm starting blaring all around us.  I stood, frozen, caught completely off-guard. It wasn't a fire drill day.  I didn't even have my roll sheet or security binder with me.  Honestly, I wasn't even sure where I was supposed to exit the building from the cafeteria!  What a fantastic sneak attack! After a moment of pure confusion, I gathered both classes I was in charge of and ushered them out to the front lawn. Someone, it seems, had pulled the fire alarm. Not a common occurrence in an elementary school.

The rest of the school day went by in a blur, and by the end of the day I was a skittish disaster.  Back home, the repair plan for the fridge failed, and dinner plans quickly moved to fast food -- not a great choice for my #biggestbloggingloser challenge. But Today - you won. I ate fast food.  I ate two small pieces of leftover Christmas fudge. I did not work out. I was not a strong enough, independent enough woman to survive the pummeling you threw at me.

Today, you won.
But Tomorrow is mine.