I’ve been tired and achy and wrung-out tonight, for no reason — it wasn’t a particularly stressful day at work, and I’m coming off a weekend when I was able to rest up from last week (which was busy and stressful).

Anyway, a woman called up tonight to ask if I would help judge a D.A.R. essay contest. I’ve been asked on numerous occasions to help judge essay or speech contests, and I normally enjoy it. And the woman who was asking is a long-time family friend. But I just felt like I have too much going on this month, and I turned her down, which I feel a little bad about. I felt even worse when I realized a little hypocrisy on my own part.

For the past week, I’d been annoyed that a local official had not returned my call asking him to comment on a relatively-innocuous news story. How dare he!

Well, the woman from the D.A.R. had called and left a message on my voice mail Friday afternoon. I got it this morning and wrote down her number, but somehow I never got around to calling her back today. That’s why she had to call me at home.

Anyway, now I’m tired, and grouchy, and feeling guilty.