At 5:00 in the morning I am beginning to emerge from deep sleep. I’m mildly aware of the world, but still not awake. And I most certainly don’t want to get up at that hour.

Which is why this morning’s alarm was particularly rude. It came about 5:00, way before the time I had selected to arise. But I’m also blind at that hour; my glasses are still on the dresser. The room is dark. Seeing is not an option.

Since I had a 7:30 appointment downtown, I didn’t want to oversleep. So I stumbled into the bathroom to look at the clock. “Yep, it’s 6:30 alright. I need to get ready.” I shaved, showered, and got dressed. Then I saw my mistake.

As I was eating breakfast, now with my glasses on and light in the room, I noticed that it was only 6:00. A full hour and a half before my appointment. I was flabbergasted. I finished reading the paper. Then I looked for a place to take a short nap. The sofa in my office was perfect.

I got over the sleep deprivation, but I also made note of how hard it is to see the face of the clock without my glasses and in the dark. I made all my appointments with amazing mental clarity, and I hope my time confusion doesn’t happen again.

But the experience was a good reminder of how easy it is to think you’ve seen things clearly, only to find out that your vision was distorted.