Edmond suddenly woke up from his dream. He looked over at the clock, 4:59 AM, one minute before his alarm was set to go off. He could feel actual tears on his face, remnants from his dream. Was I actually crying during my sleep? The sound of his alarm jolted him out of his thoughts.
Time to make the donuts, Edmond thought to himself as he turned off the alarm. The old Dunkin’ Donuts commercial had always stuck with him and every morning he would replay those five words in his head as he was getting out of bed.
Of course, Edmond didn’t make donuts, no, he made cases, and damn good cases at that. Cases that he continually won, cases that made the law firm a lot of money, not Edmond a lot of money, but his firm. Just a few more wins and they’ll have to make me a partner, Edmond thought.
For the past five years, every morning had been the same routine for Edmond: 5 AM wake up, 5:15 AM home workout – he didn’t have the time to drive back and forth from a gym, 5:45 AM coffee while he perused the Wall Street Journal, 6 AM shit, shower, shave, and dressed for success, 6:30 AM a kiss for his wife, his daughters – ages 4 and 2, then finally arriving at one of the most prestigious law firms in the city, sitting at his desk and ready to start his workday by 7:17 AM.
He didn’t like starting his workday at 7:17 AM, no, he wanted to start at 7 AM, but he couldn’t find any way to shave 17 minutes off of his morning routine. He couldn’t afford to wake up 17 minutes earlier, because when you only sleep 5 hours a night, those 17 minutes of sleep, became absolutely necessary to get through the day.
The next 43 minutes of his morning were always the most productive part of his day as no one else showed up to the office until 8 AM, not even the paralegals or administrative assistants. Today, however, was different.
Edmond turned on his computer, typed in his password and waited for his computer to come alive. And in that small amount of time, waiting for his computer to become functional, his dream from early that morning crept into his mind.
The dream had felt so real. He remembered feeling so much sorrow and pain being released from his body, then complete exhilaration, happiness and understanding wash over him. He sat at his desk, allowing himself to feel everything all over again, as he replayed the dream in his mind.
When was the last time I felt anything? Edmond thought. For the last five years, all I’ve done is work to become Partner here. Edmond started thinking about his wife and children. When was the last time I actually noticed them, felt their presence? When was the last time they felt my presence?
Sure, when Edmond wasn’t in the office, he made the remaining amount of time available to his wife and children, but when was the last time he made his mind available, his soul available to them? His work was always with him.