It's alarming...

Usually, one or both of us wakes up on our own in sufficient time for the day ahead. However, both Don and I are having alarm clock issues. Twice, I hadn't even set my alarm but it turned on anyway because somehow I must not have turned it off correctly from Tuesday morning. In my groggy fumble, I turned it off or at least, thought I had until turn it began to play again in fifteen minutes.

Don had set his alarm but unbeknown to either of us, the alarm clock by Don was an older one I had from years ago where I could program a vocal wake-up message. After having fallen back to sleep, I was startled as my voice awakened us this morning. During Don's efforts to turn it off, he engaged the other features and by then, we had a chorus of nature sounds and rainfall to ensure we did not oversleep. By then, I was no longer annoyed or groggy, I was laughing too hard to be asleep.

It was frustrating though in that since I have been dealing with this upper respiratory ailment, I have not slept through the night. So I really had been looking forward to a few extra winks. Just the night before, I woke up out of an almost complete night's sleep to see that the clock was reading 4:44.

Over the past year, I have written about my fascination with and expanded experiences of catching the clock as it turns to 1:11 or 11:11. There have also been several cases of triple digits usually 2:22 or 3:33; and only once or twice my favorites fives in a row, 5:55. But not the fours.

In traditional Chinese medicine, I learned that our body clocks and specific organs have time cycles that show up at specific wee hours of the morning. Not sure what the fours are for but I knew it was not random that I popped my eyes open at that time.

Did the 444 have to do with the information I heard about AIG funding a $400k retreat soon after the big bailout? And then got an additional $80 after that. Aw, come on, you gotta be kidding?? Reallly?

On a completely different topic, Balfour is not a great name to have as a baseball pitcher. Especially, when you keep walking Red Sox hitters in the fifth inning of a very tight game. (As I write this, it is 5-5 in the 5th inning. )
An interesting little tidbit about the Tampa Bay Rays which I learned tonight is that their original name was Devil Rays. And when they were named that, they never had a winning season. They got rid of the Devil in their name and here they are today, playing again the Bosox in the ALCS Championship.
Was it SATAN??? --she writes with every Church Lady inflection I can type.

Okay, now it is 8-8 in the 8th inning. This cosmic numerology stuff just continues--even in baseball. How is a pastor supposed to write her Sunday morning sermon if it is a tie going into the ninth inning?

Weather winds have been blowing hard here in Chico. It feels as if the winds of human change are blowing hard all over, too. This has been a week of deaths and loss for people or congegants that I have been supporting. Another beloved friend/congregant is now in Hospice in San Diego -offering deeper opportunities to connect with the Spirit and the important priorities and values of life. So many times, death can be such a wake-up call for people. It can be a good reminder to not hit the snooze button of life.