Some days the early bird really does get the worm (or the caterpillar).
-Picture by Lisa R. (owner)-

Today has been a looong day. I have been functioning on only four hours of sleep, thanks to my brother and fantasy football. Don’t see the connection? Let me, expound. My brother is an avid fantasy football participant, he has been playing faithfully for the last ten years. As such he has discovered many tricks to help him outdo, and outlast the competition. This morning as I was resting peacefully (dreaming about flying puppies…no lie they had wings), in the midst of my rest my ears discerned a small beep. My subconscious tried to push it away, but this seemed to only anger the beeping sound, which became louder and louder until I could no longer ignore it. I sat up looked at my alarm clock, but it was NOT my alarm that was going off. Curious as to the time, I took a gander and discovered it was 4:00 AM! WHAT! I followed the sound into the family room, only to discover  my brother sitting in a dark room lit only by the light of a desktop computer. “Dude, why’d your alarm go off at four in the morning?!” “I am adding guys to my fantasy team.” SERIOUSLY!??!! I can laugh now, but as I lay in my bed unable to fall back asleep, I genuinely wanted to beat him up. At the same time however I admired his determination to step outside of his comfort zone (or sleep zone), and put in the effort needed to help him win. My brother doesn’t just do this for fantasy he was like that in school (both high school and college), and he is like that in his current job. He goes above and beyond the standard to find what he needs to succeed. As I sit here writing I got to thinking how different the world would be if more people had this mentality. If instead of just wanting to succeed, we took the steps necessary to achieve our goals. It is good to have dreams and ambition, however they won’t be realized without effort. On this journey sometimes we have to take a road we have never traveled before in order to reach our destination.  Somedays the early bird really does get the worm.

“Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!” (Proverbs 6:6)

So what am I thankful for today? Lessons at 4:00 AM.