Wake Up Calls

I set my alarm clock every day when I need the discipline to get going. That means I set my alarm every day when I need to go to work. We all need little reminders, little kicks in the butts, a little nudge to remind us of the things that we know need to be done. I need one everyday to get out of bed in the morning. I need a wake up call because otherwise I would just sleep for my own comfort.
A couple of weeks ago I received another wake up call. I went to a dinner party with some associates from work. My coworker and I were responsible for a huge four day presentation with our customers. The presentation went very well and we had a dinner planned for all participants. When we arrived at the restaurant all of the guests started ordering cocktails. I ordered one also.
I recently got out of the hospital for a bout of pancreatitis. One of the orders on release was to stay away from alcohol. For some reason I thought one little drink wouldn’t hurt. Well, it didn’t. Dinner was great, I think everyone had fun. It was a lot of food, nice flavor.
I drove home from the restaurant feeling quite well. The presentation had been going very well. The dinner went well. And there was no reason that the whole week would not conclude on a positive note. I got home about 9PM and sat down to talk to my wife and watch some television before going to bed.
By 10:30 PM I could not get comfortable. I had an inkling as to what the pain was. I had the experience before. I thought getting a good nights sleep would make me feel better but by 2 o’clock in the morning the pain would not go away. And by 5:00 AM I was in the emergency room. My pancreas was inflamed and irritated and it had shut down my intestines causing me excruciating pain. Once I was admitted to the hospital I called my coworker to let him know that I would not be in to work that day.
Luckily, the work that I had done on the project was the work that made it possible to be taken over by the customers. That was the purpose - to show the customers that they could do it. The presentation was destined to be a success whether I was there or not. But I would have liked to have seen the presentation through to the end.
I missed 7 days of work but I was too weak to do anything. I needed the time to recuperate. I was given a few more days when I returned to work. I went to work on Monday but, living and working in San Diego County, they sent us home. We returned on Wednesday.
Well, that hospital stay was my wake up call. The illness and the recent fires tell me that I need to be healthy to take care of my family. They need me around. I need to be here for them. I need to take better care of my health. I spent 5 days in the hospital and really put a lot of pressure on those who care about me. I think I know what needs to be done now. I am losing weight and feeling a lot more in control of my life.

Pay attention to your wake up calls. They are important.