A Very Moody Day

Have you ever had a day that refused to behave? I just had one today. I had requested my very smart clock to wake me up at 7am sharp. I had gone to bed late because I had to finish season 1 of a TV series I am watching on Netflix. Anything to stop thinking about the appointment. But when I opened my eyes, sunlight flooded the room. It was 9am and my clock was snoozing. It had its eyes closed and was snoring. My appointment with the dreaded doctor was at 9 am and I knew it was a lost case because it was already 9am. I was so very angry with the clock that I banished it to the storeroom for a week at least. As I closed the storeroom door, I heard it ticking extra loudly to make its resentment at being locked away known. I felt bad for it, but it deserved it.

I call to reschedule though my hands are shaking but it goes straight to voicemail. Strange but I feel relieved somehow. And they seem to have changed the voicemail recording. I try a second time. Again voicemail! Hey, wait a minute, the number seems wrong. I check and yes, I had dialled the wrong number. I had dialled 801 instead of 810. I hope they don’t call me back where I must apologise. But two mins later that's exactly what happens. I remind myself to take long deep breaths. It was turning out to be one of those days where it acts out like a toddler throwing a tantrum.

Luckily, I managed to get another appointment for 11.30 am. I quickly make myself an avocado toast and a poached egg. I would have liked to spend some time savouring it but not today. It is nearly 11 am and I need to leave asap because it takes at least half an hour. As I walk out to the car it looks like late afternoon and the birds seeming to be flying back to their nests with loud screeches. I look up at the sky, and it is a clear sky. I look at my watch, and it shows 4 pm. What????? But it was just 11 am when I was having breakfast. And I came out right after breakfast. So how could this be? My heart has started its drumbeats. How can I reschedule again and such an important appointment. Twice in a day. I don’t want them to think I am a careless person. Well, I guess the day is really acting up today and once the day is in a tantrum mood, nothing can calm it down. I am sure there's worse to come till the tantrum runs its course. I see my neighbour over the fence and wave to her, but she is too busy looking at the sky in a confused manner.

I sit in the car and pull out my phone. I sit for five minutes mustering up the courage to call again. Hopefully the doctor has noticed the day's antics too. Luckily, I get an appointment for tomorrow. Luckily, they had noticed the day acting up and so I did have to feel embarrassed. Now that I have the rest of the day off, I decide to go grocery shopping. I hope the tantrum stops soon this time and not like last time when there was a hailstorm for an entire week.

As I drove, I found myself being forced to take an expected right turn. I nearly crash into the car in front of me because it stopped unexpectedly. It must be a newbie, not used to the whims and fancies of our days. As I drove further suddenly, I found myself on a freeway that wasn’t there yesterday. It often happened when the day had its tantrum. But there were a lot of newbies too and there was a lot of honking and cars crashing into each other. Moreover, the traffic lights had three new colours adding to the confusion. Surprisingly all I do is keep reminding myself to take long deep breaths and I am okay because I am used to the day acting up like this. I don’t even know where I am and now my heart starts its drumbeats again when I wonder how I am going to return home especially if the day keeps adding and deleting roads. I realise I will not be able to return home until the day calmed down which makes me grip the steering wheel tighter and the drum beats louder.

I pressed my temples as I felt the headache returning. I thought about tomorrow's appointment and how the headaches have increased in frequency. I don’t want the checkup because I know what the doctor silently suspects and it makes me want to avoid the test and I have been doing so for the last couple of months. If there is no test there can be no confirmation of bad news. But sometimes I also want to get the test done so that I can find permanent relief from the headaches. I am as confused as the confusion the day has caused right now. Unfortunately, the frequency has jumped so high in the last couple of weeks that I can no longer avoid it.

Suddenly the temperature drops and I get goosebumps and start shivering and quickly turn on the heater in the car. A layer of white powder coats the windshield. I turn on the wipers and look around. It looks like it is snowing. But it is the middle of summer! As I look around, I can see kids in other cars get excited. There are louder honks because there is no visibility at all. My headache intensifies and I have no pain killers on hand. Every time someone honks is like a loudspeaker in my ear. It makes me realise that I cannot put off the test any longer especially because the days in our part of the world suffer from extreme mood swings that can last days. This tantrum created confusion but managed to clear my mental confusion.

I see a car park ahead and decide to wait out the snowstorm. The visibility is poor and with the headache I think it is better to wait it out. After 10 mins of snow everything is calm again. I am wondering what will come next. But surprisingly the sun is peeking out at times. Is the tantrum ending and will things return to normal? And just like that it does. The sun comes out, and it looks like a summer’s day. I start my journey home and yes suddenly everything is back to normal. I reach home take some painkillers and book the test the doctor has been recommending before I change my mind.

The next morning, I wake up early. I feet bad for my smart clock and get it from the storeroom. It seems like a lovely normal summer day. My headache is gone. I take my time to have my breakfast and then leave for the doctor. Who would believe it was such a chaotic day yesterday but some of the branches of the trees in the sidewalk are still all white, a quiet testament to the tantrum of the day. Yesterday was wild, but it left me with clarity.