Someone please buy me a new coffee maker.

I've never really been what one might consider a &#8220morning person,” but lately, I think I've gotten worse.

First of all, I finally got around to taking down my Christmas tree three weeks after Christmas was over. Yes, I admit it. I get so busy sometimes, that I just let other things go. Actually, Samson, my 21-pound tomcat, had decided that the tree had obviously become a permanent piece of living room furniture, and if I had had my way, it wouldn't have bothered me to leave it up a few more weeks.

What am I going to put in its place? The nice chair and ottoman that was once there?

Why, no.

I'm going to blow the – no, wait a minute, make that vacuum – the dust off my treadmill and put IT in the corner. After all, it's a new year – time for New Year's resolutions and all that jazz. What better way to start my day than with exercise, right?

Actually, I'm sure that my treadmill will continue to make a fine place for hanging clothes just as it has done in the past.

If you haven't done it, you know you're lying.

Exercise is supposed to not only help someone lose weight, but also help him or her to have more energy. I do understand the rational concept behind the idea, but actually carrying it through is quite a different matter altogether. Samson, of course, has found that in the past my treadmill is a pretty good place to take a nap. It's not like he had to worry about it ever moving.

However, energy, being awake in the mornings, and decreasing my stress levels are exactly the things I need.

Case in point: Early one morning, I head to the shower, half asleep, of course. I've just gotten in the shower, just gotten my hair completely wet, and the unthinkable happens. The shower rod falls.

There I stand, soaking wet and freezing, trying to get the shower curtain rod back up, but to no avail. In the meantime, all of my hot water, along with my patience, is going down the drain. I finally gave up. I was not a happy camper to say the least.

And my solution to the problem?

Since I've decided that I do not have the time to buy another shower curtain rod anytime soon, I simply wedged a paperback novel between the rod and the shower wall and there you go. Problem solved. I didn't earn two college degrees for nothing.

However, that is something that can be hidden, for the most part. The morning that I got dressed without turning on the overhead light, though, proved to me that I really needed to slow down.

On that same morning, I stopped at the gas station to fill my car. When I got out of my car, I began to notice that I was walking a little funnyŠ..

Then I noticed a different sound.

Click, step. Click, step on the concrete.

What's that?

As I'm pumping gas, I just happen to look down at my feet and see that I have on one black shoe and one navy shoeŠ..one is flat and the other has a small heel.

No wonder I'm walking like Quasimodo.

I have no choice but to walk inside the gas station to pay.

Click, step. Click, stepŠŠit just echoes inside the store, but of course I'm acting like I wear two different colored shoes with different sized heels all the time.

Now, tell me I don't need some stress relief in my life.

Actually, Samson is trying to get me to work out with him. He has this great exercise video he uses. It's called &#8220Yoga Pawsitions.”

Regina Grayson is managing editor of The Luverne Journal. She can be reached at 335-3541 or by email: regina.grayson@luvernejournal.com.