Unwelcome wake-up calls

I came within inches of hitting a deer this morning and I'm still not sure how I managed to miss it. It's a narrow stretch of road so I wasn't moving very fast and I guess my brakes must be pretty good, plus the scream unfurling behind me like a parachute must have slowed me down even more. At any rate, I found myself suddenly sitting in my car in the predawn fog with every cell in my body suddenly wide awake and a doe standing in front of me with a look on her face that clearly said, "Are you looking at me?"

Oddly enough, that was not my first rude awakening of the morning. I don't know how you react when the landline phone rings right next to your bed at 3:30 a.m., but my first thought is always Who died? followed quickly by If that's a phone solicitor, someone is going to suffer and it won't be me. 

But it wasn't a phone solicitor. It was my dad, who woke up in the wee hours and couldn't figure out where he was. He was okay, no problems, nothing particular on his mind, but he just wanted reassurance that he hadn't been abandoned. I reminded him that he's in a very nice assisted living facility in North Carolina, and then he wanted to know where I was, at which point I was tempted to say, You called me on my landline at 3:30 a.m. Where do you think I am? 

My brother says it's a stressful time for Dad, which is true, but it's a stressful time for all of us. Both brothers are in Florida clearing out Dad's house to get it ready to sell, and they keep texting me photos of things I'd forgotten about and asking whether I want them. That old trophy from my time on the junior high newspaper staff? Sure, why not--no one else will want it. I can use it as a paperweight. My favorite fruit bowl? Absolutely. A 20-year-old Nikon that shoots film? No thanks, I already have one. 

The brothers and sister-in-law are doing all the heavy lifting, so I'm not going to complain about getting an unwelcome wake-up call. It's the least I can do. Now, though, after close encounters with both Dad and a deer while I was still feeling my way around this morning, I'm ready to curl up and go right back to sleep. Too bad I have to go teach my composition class! If my 8 a.m. students sit there with that deer-in-the-headlights look, I'll try very hard not to scream.