Mood

Today was supposed to start with a sense of excitement. I was meeting Matt, Neal, and Stephen for breakfast at our regular little joint - Georgio's Kountry Kitchen. Great pancakes, waffles, french toast, omelette's, eggs. You get the picture. Instead of excitement though I was tired. My alarm went off and I just wanted to go back to sleep. I sleepily walked to the shower, turned on the water to let it warm up, and then just stood under it to try and wake up.

This breakfast actually threw my day off because it made everything start earlier. I had to leave the house earlier and that broke the routine. I ended up leaving the air conditioner on and the murphy bed down. I left without jewelry or water in my Klean Kanteen.

Breakfast was great as it always is when we get together. It was rushed though. I had to be at work less than an hour from the time we started so it wasn't as relaxing and carefree as I would have liked. Time with the guys though is always good and important. Recharging the friendship batteries is a necessity.

One person threw a wrench into my morning after I got to work. It was all about wanting tickets with a discount code that he thought was valid but wasn't. Honestly, it should have been valid according to the information. The moment he approached my window and started speaking to me I didn't like him. My problem, not his. He asked too many questions right off the bat without waiting for the answers. Everything that transpired between us after that had me feeling like a cat with his back arched and anxious. I just wanted to be rid of him. Unfortunately, I wasn't rid of him for 15 minutes. That 15 minutes was enough to put me in a foul mood for several hours. I tried to just smile and change my mood. I tried to be nice to all the other customers to change my mood. It's amazing how something so small can affect me for so long. I'm not really sure what actually caused my mood. It could have been the loud upstairs neighbor that annoyed me as I tried to go to sleep last night. It could have been the earplugs that were hurting my ears that prevented me from falling asleep last night. It could have been the change in the morning routine that caused me to rush this particular morning. It could have been the customer.

I'm in charge of my mood. I can change it.

I think I was more angry with myself for not handling the situation with the customer better. I treated him poorly and I'm pretty sure he knew I was annoyed. My problem, not his. Getting over anger is hard. Forgiving myself is harder. Learning from my mistakes is the hardest. I should have treated him better.

The cloud lifted when I heard my friend Christine say "mmm hmm". I couldn't even see her, but I knew it was her voice. A two minute exchange produced a big laugh which pummelled the negativity shroud I'd been wearing into dust.