The week has gotten off to a wicked start!

After spending almost 4 hours driving back and forth visiting with the in laws,  a visit which included 3 hours of tinkering with and fixing all sorts of minor malfunctions they had going on, I was looking forward to a less stressful day today. 
That is not how this day has started out. 
My day's calendar started out with a funeral in the middle of the afternoon. 
Right off the bat, I knew my work day would be truncated at best.
My drive to work in the morning which normally takes a max of 25 minutes took over 45 minutes today.....7 miles....45 minutes!
When I started the bus, I saw that no one had gassed up before the weekend.
Normally this would not be a big deal, however given that I was already behind schedule, stopping for gas was not an option.
I made a quick assessment and opted to head out on my route "fairly" confident that I had enough gas.
Not quite sure, I could feel the tension starting to develop in my lower back.
For some unknown reason, there was an inordinate amount of traffic on the roads today. 
At intersections where I normally have to wait for no more than a car or two, I found myself waiting as lines of traffic streamed by.
All of this is serving notice to me that in order to accomplish all that I have planned for the day, I will have to be mindful of that most valuable of resources.....time!
The tension in my back is quite noticeable which is serving as yet another reminder . 
Relax!
Take everything in stride.
Knowing that time is a precious commodity, make sure that I take some of it to regroup, relax and refocus. 
Charging forward perusing agenda items without taking a minute to breath and refocus will ultimately work against me.
The brief respite that I gift to myself will in the end pay huge dividends.
When I take the time to really evaluate what I would like to get done today, there are only a few items that can't be moved forward to tomorrow.
I just checked the clock.
I have 2 solid hours before I must leave for the funeral.
That is the only fixed item left on my list for the day.
The rest will all get handled at some point.
Deep breath....calm down....head down ...and get to work!