The Missed Deadline

I missed it.  The deadline.

As hard as I tried to meet it, my body simply would not cooperate. 

Why I thought I could rush my recovery is something I now am pondering. 

 It has only been one week since my surgery.  Monday a week ago. 

 Last Tuesday was one of the most physically painful days of my life - next to labor. 

But with labor, there was a prize at the end.  

This pain birthed little jagged stone fragments from a 9 mm kidney stone that my urologist broke up with a laser on Monday. I spent Wednesday pounding water, and languishing in bed on Vicodin which did little to relieve the pain.  

And still that deadline loomed. I had to make it back to school by Friday.

 I called the doctor and begged him to remove the stent from my right ureter so that I could return to school.  

"You see," I explained,  "I have this deadline to meet."

 Reluctantly, he agreed. However it was a lot sooner than he would prefer.  By about two weeks. He cautioned me that I would likely experience some pain.  I doubted the pain could be any worse than it was with the stent. 

So Thursday, I pulled myself up and dressed. Even slapped on some makeup with the intent of going directly from the doctor's office to school.  Wrong. 

 The pain I experienced after the stent removal was excruciating. My husband drove me back home and I popped 2 Vicodins and writhed in pain.  Friday was almost here and I was still in pain. 

 Everyone told me to let it go.  To stay home and recover.  That is what extensions are for.

But how could I? 

 I don't miss deadlines.  

And I don't let my students miss deadlines.  

I still thought I'd make it Friday. Until Friday morning. Then I thought that maybe I could make it by Friday afternoon. 

 Letting that deadline go was almost as painful as passing the kidney stones.

So I missed the deadline. 

A deadline I set. Months ago. I pounded that deadline into the heads my students.  

I posted it on my bulletin board and wrote it on my white board. 

And I missed it. Not them.  Me.

Schedules are very important to me.  I rule my life by them.  Rehearsal schedules. Syllabi. Calendars. 

I pride myself in their accuracy. I feel immense satisfaction when I can put a little check mark next to a date and task that was scheduled - done. 

Schedules  provide a road map that when followed ensure that the destination will be met.  

Schedules carve out time to accomplish tasks.  

In my world, I am lost without a schedule. 

A missed deadline wreaks havoc on a schedule.

Now, I have to alter my schedule and make up for the missed deadline.

 I have to find time to do what should have happened on Friday.

There is much for me to learn from this experience.  

Lesson Learned.  You cannot rush your recovery from surgery. 

Lesson Learned. You should not rush your recovery from surgery.

Lesson Learned. Listen to your doctor. 

Lesson Learned. Listen to your body. 

Lesson Learned.  Sometimes, we get thrown off our schedule.  That's when we need to be flexible.

Lesson Learned.  Missing a deadline is not the worst thing in the world.