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Lazy Sunday

I did it again. I slept through church. This is really getting to be a bad trend. Once again, I started out with the best intentions. I even laid out my clothes the night before, washed my hair etc. so all I’d have to do is jump out of bed, get dressed, and get out the door. The church is only about three to four blocks away. How hard is that?

But, after a Saturday when it seemed my sinus infection was improving, Saturday night wasn’t so hot. I couldn’t fall asleep, and every time I got close I started hacking. The cough drops were used up, and the nice soft tissue is gone too – leaving only water and toilet paper.

I finally think I fell asleep around 3:30 a.m., only to be startled awake at about 5:30 a.m. by a very loud thump, thump, thump. I shot straight up in bed it was so loud. I wrapped the quilt around me and timidly peaked around the corner of my bedroom door, half expecting to find someone trying to pound down my front door. Finding the door still locked, I started checking the windows.

Then it came again, bang, bang, bang – it was coming from my study. I checked that window, but nothing. So, I stood in the dark and waited to hear the sound again. Sure enough, I heard something that sounded like a board scraping across the wall, then another bang, bang, bang – thump.

It was my neighbor, the one with the huge speakers. Apparently, he was having a sleepless night too, and so decided to build some shelves in his study, which backs up to mine.

I must confess, thoughts of Christian love for my neighbor weren’t really happening in my head. I thumped on the wall and yelled, “Hey dude, it’s 5:30 in the morning, do you mind?” No response. (Our walls are very thin. He works from home, so when I’m working from home we talk to each other through the wall. I know he heard me.)

I went back to bed, spread out the quilt, refluffed the pillows, hacked a few times again – and then another bang, bang, bang.

Now I’m annoyed. Not only is my adrenaline rushing because I thought someone was breaking in, (so I’ll probably never get to sleep) but this moron apparently can’t take a hint. I haven’t slept and I’m grouchy.

Back into the study I went, crazed by how insensitive this guy can be a lot of the time. I pounded on the wall again. “Jeff, blank, blank cut it out! Do you know what blanking time it is? Give me a blanking break! You’ve got to be blanking kidding me! You have to do this right now, at 5:30 blanking a.m? ”

No response, but the hammering stopped. I’m sure he was thinking of a word that starts with “B” and it isn’t blanking.

So, another confession. I grew up around the military, and then went to journalism school and worked on a newspaper. Translation – I can cuss like a sailor if properly provoked. I’m not proud of it.

I finally drifted off to sleep for the night about the time the sun was coming up. I’d set the alarm for church, but I don’t remember it going off. I just remember waking up to the warmth of the sun on my face about 10:30 a.m., just when church is supposed to be starting. Groan. Not again! I thought about Jeff, and tried to feel bad for yelling at him, but honestly, I didn’t. Who gets out their hammer to start a construction project at 5:30 on a Sunday morning?

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