You just never know

I’ve taken to waking with a prayer–it’s relatively simply and always the same: Lord, please, bless this day. Help me to accomplish all I need to accomplish and accomplish it well. And may this day be good. Then I roll out of bed to face the day.

Last Friday, those words refused to form. Not for lack of trying, mind you. Yet each time I uttered so much as Lord, my mind wandered elsewhere, or my eyes would close and I’d briefly fall to sleep. Looking back, I’m wondering if it was God’s way of saying, “Not today . . . don’t bother with those words today.”

It wasn’t the worst day ever, mind you, but it certainly wasn’t the best. I went to work to find a farewell letter from our CEO. The acquisition went through the night before, you see. His goodbye was thoroughly lovely and full of grace. I can’t say I imagined anything less.

Then came the news that one of our own is amongst the first to be laid off.  You’d be hard pressed to find a sweeter lady. Once I heard the news, I couldn’t stop the tears. By the time I arrived in Oregon to spend time with family, I looked as though I’d had quite the allergic reaction. Unfortunately, I looked that way long before I ever neared the sagebrush.

Thankfully, the weather was gorgeous, and the company good. We took a long walk, basked in the sun, ate a lot, and laugh all the more. By the time I drove back I was singing at the top of my lungs . . . Blinded by the light! Wake up roll a’ douchin’ in the roller of the night . . .

Now, here we are at Monday. We’ll be meeting our new owners today. Our sweet friend will be training her replacement. And I’ll be waiting to see if I’m next.

Life’s funny that way, isn’t it? Even in the best of times, you just never know. Kind of like that song: you may think you know the lyrics, but sometimes you just don’t.

Personally, I’m hoping it’s the like photo (above), snapped in the passenger seat of a moving car, on the way to Burns. It might be blurry, maybe even a little unnerving–but sort of awesome, all at once.