You ever have one of those days that just starts out sideways? Not tragic, not dramatic — just a day where all the small, insignificant things decide they’re going to test your patience one by one. Nothing big enough to complain about, but enough to make you shake your head and think, Really? Today?
Most days follow a routine. You get up, take a shower, grab something to eat, head to the office, work through your appointments, sip your tea or coffee, wrap up your tasks, and go home to your family. Dinner, maybe a show or a book, and then to bed. Rinse and repeat.
But every now and then, you get the other kind of day — the one where the universe seems to be slightly misaligned, just enough to be humorous if you’re in the right mindset… or maddening if you’re not.
This was one of those days.
The Subtle Signs
The day started with me waking up a few minutes before my alarm. I think every adult knows that frustration. You lose those last precious minutes of sleep and for what? But I shrugged it off and got ready to head out the door for an appointment about an hour away.
Standing in the kitchen, I had this quiet confidence that the day was going to be smooth. But behind it was this nagging whisper: Feels like you’re forgetting something. I ignored it, grabbed my bag and my coat, and headed out.
On the drive, I started calculating whether I had enough time to stop for my usual bold black tea and a breakfast sandwich. According to the GPS, I did. So I placed an order through the app — the same routine I follow at least four times a week — and thought to myself, Perfect. Today’s going to behave.
It didn’t.
I arrived at the restaurant, went to the pickup area, and… nothing. No tea. No sandwich. The staff eventually told me they didn’t have my order — because I had sent it to the other location across town. Classic. Breakfast option number one down the drain.
The Search for Breakfast
Not deterred, I got back in the car and pulled into Wegmans — a place where you never expect disappointment. Except that day, they were out of hot water and every breakfast sandwich was gone. I actually laughed. At that point, I had to admire the commitment to the theme.
I tried one last option — a gas station. They had no tea. No honey. No milk. The streak continued.
It was starting to feel personal, but in a way that was almost comical. I chalked it up as one more quirk in a day that wasn’t quite cooperating and drove to my meeting.
The Missing Laptop
I walked into the boardroom, said hello, sat down, unzipped my backpack, and reached for my laptop.
Nothing.
Unzipped the other compartment. Still nothing.
That nagging feeling in the kitchen suddenly made sense. The night before, I had taken my laptop out to answer a few emails in the living room — and never put it back. I sat there for a second, both annoyed and amused. Of course. What else would happen today?
Thankfully, my phone saved the meeting. Technology really is a miracle when you need it. Still, instead of heading back toward Syracuse afterward, I now had to drive an hour the opposite way to go home and retrieve the laptop.
The Stress Drive Home
That drive home was anything but relaxing. I had several calls I needed to make — the kind that sit in your mind like unpaid bills. Each one carried its own little dose of stress, and trying to juggle them all while retracing my steps didn’t help.
I pulled into the driveway just a few minutes before a scheduled Teams meeting. No time to decompress. I rushed inside, grabbed the laptop, logged into the meeting, finished what needed to be done, and got right back into the car to head toward the office.
Halfway there, a Teams notification popped up:
Your 4:00 appointment is canceled.
On most days, that would have felt like relief. And honestly, it did — even if only slightly. But I still had obligations, still had things that needed to be finished back at the office, and still had several calls on my list that needed attention. The stress was real.
But something funny happens once you finally pick up the phone and make those calls. Once you chip away at one or two of them, the pressure starts to loosen. The knot in your chest untangles just a bit. The day starts to feel manageable again.
And that’s exactly what happened.
A Calm Ending
Eventually, everything settled down. I made it home, caught up on emails, had a great dinner, watched a show on Amazon Prime, and wrapped up the day on a much better note than it had started.
And that’s really the point of all this.
Nothing terrible happened. Nothing life-changing. Just a bunch of little inconveniences stacked in a neat row. Annoying? Yes. Comical? Eventually. Defining? Not at all.
It didn’t ruin the day. It didn’t ruin the week. It didn’t turn into some dramatic story of hardship. It was just a reminder that even the best-laid plans will occasionally get thrown off, and that’s okay.
What matters isn’t the small frustrations. It’s how we respond to them.
Tomorrow is a new day. And who knows — maybe tomorrow the breakfast sandwich will actually be waiting for me.
Mark J Modzeleski, CFS, CLTC, AIF
President, Legacy Wealth Advisors of NY