Highly Motivated or Just Out of Control, You Decide.

The sun was just coming up and the light was beginning to glow through the window in our bedroom when it happened…an alarm jerking me out of a semi-dreamy state. My first reaction was to hit the snooze until I realized that I had hit it already. I jumped out of bed thinking I was ready for the day... I know, I know! I am one of those crazy morning people who loves the sunrise.

Well, this morning was a little different. I was tired and had not slept good the night before, but I was still excited. I had a lot going on in my head and already was thinking about all the things I had to do before lunch.

I stumbled to the bathroom, turned the shower on and while the water was getting hot, grabbed my awesome turbo-charged toothbrush that my wife had bought me. This thing will take the enamel off your teeth if you leave it in one place. I grabbed the toothpaste, squirted it on the brush, and fired Mr. Turbo up.  I shoved it into my front teeth and started polishing and that’s when everything went into a confusing blur.

The paste coated my front teeth and there was a metallic explosion in my mouth. I jerked the toothbrush out and in my daze could not figure out what kind of nasty toothpaste my wife had bought.

I looked down and there were two identical tubes on the counter. I picked up the one closest to me and turned it over. To my shock and horror it was Desitin Creme for the babies’ diaper rash. I immediately and furiously started spitting. I washed my mouth out over and over and finally got most of the taste out. When it was over, I stood there in the steamed up bathroom and started laughing.

While it was funny, I walked away from that moment of unorthodox teeth whitening thinking about the fact that I needed to slow down.  The things I wanted to get done were important, but not that important. We all need times that remind us to slow down and enjoy the moments. I awoke that morning highly motivated, but realized that I was a bit out control and needed a little perspective. It is hard to pay attention to the important things in life when you are always going so fast. In the end, I did not like the taste, but I did need the reminder.

You might not have much time, but you do have time to think about what is really important in your life. Checking off all the boxes on my to-do list were not quite as important as they were when I woke up that morning. Sure, I had a funky taste in my mouth for a while, but I left the house with a little more perspective and a little more thankfulness for the blessings in my life, particularly little guy who was the owner of the Desitin Cream.