One good way, maybe the best way, to skate through a tense morning with as little stress as possible is to sleep through it. I don't think I can ever plan to sleep the morning away. As soon as I tell myself I'm not going to wake up on time, I find that I wake up even earlier than usual. This thing today was just a happy accident.

I did set my clock radio last night, the same as always. On weekdays I set it for 7:30 am but don't get out of bed until eight. That lets me doze through three nine-minute snooze cycles and still be up and about by the time the Boss expects me to be alert enough to answer the phone. Some time before ten I sneak away for a quick shower.

Imagine my shock when I blinked awake this morning and checked the clock on my bedside table. 9:45! Hmmm. I guess it must be time to get up.

Actually, I don't know what I said. I don't even think I was particularly shocked, although when I thought about it with a clear head later on, I found it hard to believe that I'd had an hour of non-snoozebar-interrupted sleep, and then another hour of unconsciousness. How does that happen?

It happens when I'm so exhausted that nothing, not a helicopter landing on the roof or an oak tree crashing through the window or the Who tuning up in the living room, can get me in forward gear. I guess it must have caught up with me. And I didn't even feel guilty about it. (I don't know what would have happened if I didn't work at home. Something different, probably.)

If only the Boss know how much more work I got done today than I do on those days when I'm slogging around from eight o'clock on. At least I didn't have to explain my disappearance to him. He did leave three messages on the answering machine during those extra hours of sleep, but when I phoned him back he didn't quiz me about it. Hmmm (again). Maybe I should do this more often. If only I could plan it, instead of just having it happen to me.