Aggravating

rant/ Dear non-profit groups: have you no idea how much ill will you generate in me when you disrupt the peace of my home early in the morning?

Morning is my quiet time.

Sort of. Actually, it often involves shouting, because children are involved, particularly a 6-yr-old who thinks if he can't find his uniform or some piece thereof, moaning in the middle of the hallway will cause the missing item to fly into his lap. Something is always missing, because this same child --quite bright in academic subjects-- is capable of saying he can't find an item in plain sight at his feet.

But anyway, in theory, the uniforms having been laid out the previous evening, at which time also the lunches were made and bookbags packed with completed assignments --in theory I say-- morning is time for prayer and then reading as the kids go about their routine. Then kisses and have-a-good-days and more reading while the coffee is kicked in and while my brain can absorb (which is not the case after 9 pm).

I do not want to hear the telephone ring at 7:48 am.

Nor again at 8 am.

I do not want to hear it again at 8:30 am.

Nor again at 8:47.

I am reading, which is short for quietly gathering myself for the day. If I am not reading, I am storming about the house in search of a missing shoe or misplaced book report or both and cannot handle an interruption. I need peace in the morning, not jangles.

If the phone does ring before business hours, it had better be a friend or family member in distress and apologetic about the interruption and not a solicitation as all four calls this morning were. I didn't answer them, but the damage is done by the interruption of the sound.

I am not even slightly tempted to give to a cause that can't wait until 9 am.

Mr. W. says things will only get worse, since not-for-profits were exempted from the Do Not Call registry. Since soon the government will own everything, everything will be a non-profit.

/rant